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Design concept of Pehiãweri Marae papakãinga.
10-year masterplan developed
The design component of the project culminated in the development of a 10-year masterplan for Pehiāweri Marae and the design of an 8-unit papakāinga with communal facilities.
Several issues and opportunities emerged through the development of the masterplan. These included the potential reorientation of the whare hui (meeting house) and siting of future planned projects, including a kōhanga reo, playgrounds and a whare pora (weaving school).
The papakāinga development includes a mix of 1, 2 and 4-bedroom units arranged in clusters of 2–3 dwellings. These have been designed for exibility and with the ability to be con gured as intergenera- tional whānau homes or separate dwellings as needs change over time. The papakāinga also includes additional communal facilities that will support interdependence and community resilience whilst still retaining a balance between private, shared and communal spaces.
My project has been undertaken concurrently as both a theoretical research project and as a feasibility study and preliminary design concept for the people of Pehiāweri.
Sitework to start in 2016
Pressed earth brick is being investigated as a primary construction material for the external walls as part of the marae’s economic develop- ment activities.
Pehiāweri Marae has a ready supply of raw material and free labour through its relationships with the Department of Corrections and the trades training programmes run at the marae. This means that the marae can reliably build sweat equity into the nancial model, which can be used to meet funder co-contribution requirements and leverage nance.
As tangata whenua, the ability to live in houses made of earth intensi es the link to Papatūānuku (the earth mother) as a provider of hauora (health and wellbeing).
A model for other iwi
I am immensely grateful for having been able to spend a year working with my own whānau, connecting with my tūrangawaewae (place where one belongs) and being able to give this project back as koha to my own community.
As a model, papakāinga has extraordinary yet largely unrealised potential for the social, cultural, economic and environmental regeneration of Māori communities.
I hope that this papakāinga will operate as an exemplar develop- ment and that the experiences, learning and successes will bene t not just my own whānau but also my broader hapū and iwi.
Note I gratefully acknowledge BRANZ, Te Runanga-A-Iwi O Ngapuhi and Whakatohea Maori Trust Board for their support during my studies.
Jade Kake has been pro led in this month’s Q&A on pages 16–17.
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