Of this place: Reimagining architectural education in Aotearoa

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Authors

Carran, Victoria Anne

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Degree

Master of Architecture (Professional)

Grantor

Unitec, Te Pūkenga - New Zealand Institute of Skills and Technology

Date

2023

Supervisors

Hoskins, Rau
Ratana, Maia

Type

Masters Thesis

Ngā Upoko Tukutuku (Māori subject headings)

Keyword

Ihumātao (N.Z.)
Aotearoa
New Zealand
schools of architecture
architecture education
decolonisation
Māori students
architecture students
architecture and culture
Māori knowledge systems

Citation

Carran, V..A. (2023). Of this place: Reimagining architectural education in Aotearoa (Unpublished document submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Architecture (Professional)). Unitec, Te Pūkenga - New Zealand Institute of Skills and Technology https://hdl.handle.net/10652/6305

Abstract

RESEARCH QUESTION How can the design of an architecture campus reflect tangata whenua values and our location with Aotearoa and Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa? ABSTRACT This Research Project is a direct challenge to Aotearoa's established architectural education system, which assumes the assimilation of tauira into the dominant Pākehā worldview.2 Before European contact, Māori architectural practice had been developing in sync with the cycles of nature for several centuries. Despite this, mainstream education has failed to value Māori architecture and its principles. Instead, academic and accreditation institutions gate keep the education of architects using systems that recolonise indigenous people and continue to harm the natural world. Architecture schools teach using imported design references, theories, methods, and practices that lack relevance to our communities and are disconnected from the environment of Aotearoa. This non-contextual way of teaching architecture deters many (especially Māori) from entering the industry, and it fails to prepare tauira for their responsibility as future place-makers. This research imagines the return of Aotearoa’s architectural education to a grounding in the principles of Te Ao Māori. It highlights the potential of Mātauranga Māori in preparing tauira to design holistic, environmentally and culturally safe built environments. The principles expressed in the research and interviews will inform the design of a new whare wānanga where the wellbeing of tauira is prioritised, educational opportunities are grounded in the local community, and the natural world is placed at the centre of the learning environment. SITE PROJECT: The whare wānanga will be located at Ihumātao (Te Ihu ō Mataoho), in Tāmaki Makaurau

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