Source: Te Pukenga
Te Puna Wānaka celebrated as a taonga as the city’s top architecture is celebrated.
The Open Christchurch festival for 2023 opens with an exploration of Māori architecture and design and what better place to do it than Te Puna Wānaka on the Ara | Te Pūkenga campus.
The Friday night opening kicks off Open Christchurch’s largest-ever festival. In all, 50 buildings will be open over May 6 and 7 celebrating some Ōtautahi’s best architecture and special spaces that contribute to the city’s unique sense of place.
Built with the community and for the community, the Te Puna Wānaka whare was blessed in 1995 as a dedicated gateway for Māori to reconnect with their language and culture – in the belief that connection and understanding is a foundation for wellbeing and future prosperity.
Almost 30 years on, that fundamental ethos is alive and well. The presence of local Māori and Pasifika community groups regularly holding their hui, wānanga and fono there is a living example.
“It’s part of our Kaupapa Māori engagement strategy,” Ara |Te Pūkenga Director of Treaty partnerships Te Marino Lenihan explained. “Te Puna Wānaka was built for our learners and our communities to live and learn their language and culture. At the same time, when our communities come in, they build a relationship with us. That helps them feel better about studying here, getting a great qualification and gaining meaningful employment.”
For the first time, Te Puna Wānaka’s doors will be opened to launch the weekend-long Open Christchurch event. Following a whakatau (welcome ceremony), two panel discussions will be held. One will explore the socio-political context in which Te Puna Wānaka was designed and built, and the other will delve into the role Māori architecture can have in making our cities more inclusive and welcoming environments for tangata whenua.
Lenihan is looking forward to facilitating the first kōrero.
“Hearing the experiences of the architect Perry Royal, who is the son of first-generation Māori architect Bill Royal, alongside Ruawhitu Pokaia and Norm Dewes will be an interesting look-back to where it all began,” he said. “Norm came to Ōtautahi in the 1960s with Māori Trades Training and was key to founding Ngā Mata-a-waka, a local urban Māori entity established to support and embrace Māori from other tribes who came to live here in Ōtautahi. Norm also chaired the Polytech Council when the Te Puna Wānaka build project began.”
Jessica Halliday, Director Te Pūtahi Centre for Architecture and City Making, which organises the entire event, said the team are thrilled with the partnership with Ara.
“The opening event is a coming together of two things: tikanga Māori and a line-up of speakers that will open deeper conversations about our city’s architecture. I can’t wait to hear about the role architecture and Māori architects have had and are having in Māori communities here in Ōtautahi.”
Aotearoa’s largest independent architecture festival also 30 activities including guided walks, myriad talks, tours, creative activities and evening events.
Ara’s landmark Kahukura building – which houses the architectural and engineering schools – is again on the programme with tours on both Saturday and Sunday mornings. Expert guides will be on hand to explain the sustainability at the heart of the building which also serves as a teaching tool by displaying its structural elements, detailing and services.
“We’re so pleased it brings together so many different people, communities, neighbourhoods and parts of the city – all in celebration of our architecture. It’s a great chance for people to get out and experience their city in new ways, have new encounters,” Halliday said.
The opening event also comes at a significant time for Te Puna Wānaka, providing an opportunity to reflect on the importance of this whare in the context of Ara’s amalgamation into Te Pūkenga.
“As part of our transition into Te Pūkenga”, Lenihan explains “each of the polytechs are cataloguing their taonga so that we can help ensure that they will be looked after appropriately by those who come after us. In particular, we wish to support a Te Tiriti based partnership approach to what we consider to be taonga and how we care for them over time.”
Opening night Panel Participants:
Te Reo ō Mua: Reflections from our Past. Panel discussion featuring Perry Royal (Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Raukawa), Norm Dewes (Ngāti Kahungunu) and Ruawhitu Pokaia (Ngāti Hikairo, Ngāti Wairere, Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Pou, Ngāti Naho, Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Mahuta).
Get the inside story on the design intentions, how this architectural work speaks to Māori values, how it reflects the socio-political context of the day, and how it serves as a hub for Māori and Pacific communities today.
Te Reo ō Muri: Projections of our Future. Panel discussion chaired by Puamiria Parata-Goodall (Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Māmoe, Waitaha & Ngāti Kahungunu), featuring Te Ari Prendergast (Ngāi Tahu, Te Whānau a Apanui, Ngāti Porou, Te Aowera, Te Whānau a Ruataupare, Tūwhakairiroa), Amiria Kiddle (Ngāti Porou, Ngāpuhi) and Keri Whaitiri (Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāi Tahu).
Get a feel for the varied practices of today’s Māori design professionals and the opportunities they have to influence from their indigenous perspectives.
