VIRTUAL: Learning. Life. Work.

Abstract

In 2005, as part of a growing framework of national policy guidance around the success and quality of the urban environment, the Ministry of the Environment published the New Zealand Urban Design Protocol (UDP). At the time of its publication, the document was widely celebrated as it would provide a platform to make New Zealand towns and cities more successful and resilient through quality urban design. Nonetheless, it was recognised that a clear Māori voice and meaningful involvement in the creation of the UDP were absent and that the process undertaken in the development of the protocols was not adequately engaged with Māori interests and values. In the following months, as a result of consultation with Māori professionals working across the design disciplines, the resource management sector, and representatives of iwi (tribe) organizations from around Aotearoa New Zealand, a draft for a National Māori Cultural Landscape Strategy was discussed and formulated. This strategy (Te Aranga Māori Cultural Landscape Strategy, 2006) represented Māori’s first concerted and cohesive effort to articulate Māori interests and design aspirations in the built environment. A set of seven outcome-oriented design principles (Mana; Whakapapa; Taiao; Mauri Tū; Mahi Toi; Tohu; Ahi Kā) emerged from this foundational work, currently known as Te Aranga Māori Design Principles (TAMDP). In 2013, the Auckland Design Manual adopted TAMDP as the best guidance for design professionals. The academy plays an important role in introducing students to this discussion, incorporating Te Aranga into teaching and academic design processes. This research paper aims to present a selection of constructed projects and academic exercises where the TAMDP was respectively implemented or proposed, examining and discussing its processes and results as an essential guide to support professional and academic learning, thus reinforcing indigenous cultural identity and values.