Sweet and sour: How can architecture be used as a medium for Girmitiya descendants to reconnect with their heritage?
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Other Title
Authors
Kishore, Alvin
Author ORCID Profiles (clickable)
Degree
Master of Architecture (Professional)
Grantor
Unitec, Te Pūkenga – New Zealand Institute of Skills and Technology
Date
2025
Supervisors
Hall, Margot
Jadresin-Milic, Renata
Jadresin-Milic, Renata
Type
Masters Thesis
Ngā Upoko Tukutuku (Māori subject headings)
Keyword
Chelsea Sugar Refinery (Birkenhead, Auckland, N.Z.)
Birkenhead (Auckland, N.Z.)
Auckland (N.Z.)
Tāmaki Makaurau (N.Z.)
New Zealand
Indians in New Zealand
Indo-Fijians
museums
museum design
cultural centres
Girmitiya architecture
Indian architecture
architecture and culture
cultural identity
sugar industry
Pasifika
Birkenhead (Auckland, N.Z.)
Auckland (N.Z.)
Tāmaki Makaurau (N.Z.)
New Zealand
Indians in New Zealand
Indo-Fijians
museums
museum design
cultural centres
Girmitiya architecture
Indian architecture
architecture and culture
cultural identity
sugar industry
Pasifika
ANZSRC Field of Research Code (2020)
Citation
Kishore, A. (2025) Sweet and sour: How can architecture be used as a medium for Girmitiya descendants to reconnect with their heritage? (Unpublished document submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Architecture (Professional)).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/10652/6815
Abstract
RESEARCH QUESTION
How can architecture be used as a medium for Girmitiya descendants to reconnect with their heritage?
ABSTRACT
Within the Girmitiya diaspora, there is a widespread disconnect with cultural identity, particularly amongst the younger generation. This disconnect has been further exacerbated by political instability in Fiji over the past 40 years which targeted Indo- Fijians, and which resulted in additional migration from Fiji to Aotearoa and abroad. This wave of migration has created a generational gap, particularly among the younger Indo-Fijians raised either in Fiji or abroad, who are increasingly detached from their cultural and intangible heritage. To address this situation, a research question was proposed: ‘How can architecture be used as a medium for Girmitiya descendants to reconnect with their heritage?’
The research examines the underlying problem affecting the community and how the impacts of colonial rule have shaped contemporary society and led to a sense of displacement.
The theoretical realm of UNESCO’s Convention on Intangible Cultural Heritage has been explored with regard to the legacy of the Girmitiya experience. Equally, the work of respected theorists like Juhani Pallasmaa, Edwards Relph and Wilbert Gesler was investigated. Pallasmaa’s theories on sensory experiences further question why humans have become heavily reliant on a single sense – sight, whereas other senses are ignored, diminishing our perception of space. Relph’s theory of place and placelessness highlights the weakening of the identity to a place and how placelessness has gone through further transformation fuelled by displacement, colonialism, migration, policies and practices. Gesler, on the other hand, explains the notion of healing and its multidimensional nature, which needs to be factored in when dealing with confronting and traumatic past experiences.
The research further analyses precedents such as the Melbourne Holocaust Museum by Kerstin Thompson Architects, Hyde Park Barracks by Francis Greenway, Jewish Museum by Daniel Libeskind, and Te Taumata o Kupe by Toa Architects. The precedents reflect the notion of a difficult past, displacement, preservation of a bygone era and how the architects have addressed the situation in a holistic manner. These are some of the key themes the Girmit diaspora faces.
The resulting design is for a museum and cultural centre, a sanctuary for Girmitiya descendants located on the Chelsea Sugar Refinery site in Tāmaki Makaurau. The architecture tells the sweet and sour history of sugar production in the Pacific and provides a place where Girmitiya descendants can investigate their heritage, find a sense of belonging and celebrate their unique connection with Fiji and Aotearoa, New Zealand.
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