Rakau Momori: Interpreting through architecture the cultural landscape of Rekohu

Abstract

Uniqueness within a nation is derived from indigenous cultures; yet often a search for cultural identity is pursued through the suppression of these values. Increasingly, cultural distinctiveness is overtaken by globalization and universal guidelines values, with cultural heritage left redundant. The significance of indigenous heritage in providing context for New Zealand’s multicultural nation is widely acknowledged, with national heritage management systems aiming to provide contemporary communities with greater ability to relate to the environment around them. Subsequently, there is the opportunity for this study to align with a current shift in focus within the heritage discourse, from the preservation of tangible material to the recording of wider cultural landscapes. The underlying objective of this thesis is to engage an individual in the interpretation of cultural knowledge that gradually transforms the tangible object into a background against which a greater designation of meaning and duration is exposed. This thesis proposes an architectural response to the natural passing of tangible heritage as a method of interpreting and renewing intangible cultural knowledge. This study challenges current methods of recording the indigenous Moriori heritage of the Chatham Islands, and proposes a model to fit within a framework of existing initiatives. Through design and research, the simultaneous formation of architectures and the landscape they are positioned within is explored. The physical landscape is conceived as a medium in its capacity to hold imprints of cultural knowledge, with architecture a temporary apparatus for orientation within a wider cultural landscape.