Search

RESEARCH QUESTION: How can indigenous design principles drive the design of a Fijian museum that allows the younger generation to reconnect to their cultural heritage? Breaking down the research question into sub-categories: - Researching into Fijian material culture. - An exploration of Fijian design principles, architecture and Fijian built environments. - Practical design application ABSTRACT: As time progresses and globalisation takes hold, cultural heritage knowledge slowly fades away from memory. The memory of where we came from, our stories, arts and crafts, religious beliefs, traditions, and the way we built our architecture. Those elements of traditions that created our identity are slowly fading. The deeper purpose for this research project is to reconnect us and future generations with our culture on a metaphorical, physical and spiritual existence. For this research project, a museum as an architectural typology can be used as a platform to recreate that lost connection with our cultural heritage. As a worldwide solution, a museum’s role is to collect and preserve culturally significant objects, ranging from religious artefacts, historical artefacts and tools to clothes, and in particular antiquities. This project seeks to go beyond the traditional role of a museum to be a place where visitors get to immerse themselves in Fiji’s living culture. Site: Thurston Gardens (Suva, Fiji)

RESEARCH QUESTION: How might architecture promote the culture and heritage of the Seychelles, while also reflecting a contemporary and vibrant architectural culture? ABSTRACT: For many, the Seychelles conjures images of white sandy beaches, clear blue sea waters and lush vegetation. This is the common view of what tropical islands are. Yet, today, as an independent island state, the Seychelles also has a multifaceted history and rich culture which is the result of a unique mix of people, who are descendants of African slaves, Chinese and Indian traders and servants, and French and British colonists. The influence of Western and European architecture and lifestyle and a combination of several other factors, after its independence in the mid-1970s, led to the decline in popularity of traditional Creole architecture, and so did the importance placed on its culture. Today buildings built in the Seychelles are poorly adapted to its hot tropical climate. Nevertheless, the evolution of architecture in the Seychelles is inevitable, but how can it ensure that its culture and heritage does not fade in the process? This paper aims to achieve this, first by plotting the course of architecture of the Seychelles through analysing buildings built during colonial and post-colonial periods. The theory about the way islands are perceived is also investigated, particularly through what Uma Kothari and Rorden Wilkinson refer to as “island imaginaries”. In their article, they highlight the risks associated with the usage of this concept by small island states. It is also found that the demise of traditional Creole architecture may be linked with modernism and globalisation, as ascertained by British architect, Robert Adam. The threat cultural homogenisation poses underscores more reasons for the diverse culture of the Seychelles to be protected. Consequently, relevant precedents such as Renzo Piano’s Jean-Marie Tjibaou Cultural Centre is analysed, as the design was directly influenced by the culture of a people. Additionally, African slaves are an underappreciated part of the Seychelles’ cultural legacy; this paper aims to rectify this. Therefore, a precedent which deals with a similarly sensitive subject matter was also analysed: the National Memorial for Peace and Justice. Informed by this research, along with the conditions of the Seychelles based site, this research project proposes the design of a cultural centre with a museum component. A search for initial form is done by using a method where the Seychelles’ artefacts, heritage items, and cultural practices are analysed and ‘architecturalised’. Guided by the requirements of a museum, the cultural centre and museum programme are then applied. It is hoped that the culmination of this research paper will add to the scope of culture-inspired architecture; and that its culture and heritage can be a source of inspiration for its self-promotion, and for artistic, as well as architectural expression.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS: How can architecture create and sustain a ‘sense of place,’ in a culturally diverse city, such as Auckland? How can multiculturalism be represented with architecture? ABSTRACT: Place is a multifaceted phenomenon. We experience it as the coherence of locale; geographic features; architectural presence; people, their routine and personal experiences; and in the context of other places. When we talk about place in terms of a city, we need to understand that we share places and contribute to them collectively as a society. They in turn convey our stories. The story of Aotearoa begins with the arrival of Maori settlers, who migrated to this land from Polynesia. Later European settlers arrived, bringing people of other nationalities with them. Over the course of time, many people ventured to Aotearoa for different reasons. Some came in search of adventure, while others came looking for jobs and/or a better life. People of Aotearoa are united in their migratory journey to this new land; they left their place of origin in search of a new home, bringing with them the stories of their past. Migration of people to Aotearoa New Zealand, has resulted in its diversity. This is most evident in Auckland City; whose residents belong to 180 different ethnicities. The natural and built environment of Auckland is beginning to share the narrative of a bi-cultural society, but representation of the rising multiculturalism of our city is insufficient. Rising from a personal need to establish a ‘sense of place’, this research project addresses the need for public architecture that provides the opportunity to embrace and display the diversity of Auckland city. Investigating the concept of place; public space; migration as a collective memory; and contextual understanding of Auckland city, has resulted in Architecture of diversity. The resulting architectural outcome is the Museum of Migration, which displays the migratory history of Aotearoa through exhibitions and street style artisan market. This project inhabits Pukekawa hill at the Auckland Domain, serving as an extension to the existing Auckland War Memorial Museum.

RESEARCH QUESTION: How can an architectural intervention facilitate the return of taonga to iwi in Aotearoa/New Zealand? ABSTRACT: Taonga Māori are generally understood as a treasure, or anything of high value. The term has become a part of New Zealand legislation through its inclusion in the Treaty of Waitangi and the Resource Management Act 1991. This project focuses on the importance of the reconnection of taonga to their people. The project uses architectural design as a kaitiakitanga (guardian) to aid in the preservation and retrieval of Taonga Māori, enabling their return to iwi of New Zealand. The resulting building not only provides for preservation of taonga but also accommodates the cultural and spiritual aspects required to facilitate a strong bond between iwi and taonga. This project is intended as a koha (gift) to Māori, in order to enable further development within this field, using architecture in taonga retrieval and rehabilitation. This project is a response to the belief that Māori should create their own cultural centre. The need for a specific centre, such as the one proposed in this study, stems from the existing conflicts between traditional western museum practices and approaches and the spiritual and cultural needs of indigenous people. There are currently limited facilities to aid in culturally appropriate treatment, return, and reconnection of Taonga Māori. Investigation into Tikanga Māori, consultations with Māori cultural and architectural advisors, as well as a culturally based understanding of Puketutu Island, have resulted in the design of a Taonga Rehabilitation Centre.