Once the dust settles: Weaving a cloak of resilience for Hinemoa Point

Abstract

This thesis is primarily motivated by contemporary frictions between iwi and the Crown over designated Ngati Whakaue land intended for the construction of an eastern arterial route along the edge of Lake Rotorua, which has effectively prevented Maori from developing their own land for over 50 years. In response, this thesis argues for an architecture of resilience, speculating on an intervention which engages Ngati Whakaue myth and narrative to propose a contemporary architectural “lake-scape” that is unique to Hinemoa Point and reflective of its inherent socio-cultural and historical context. In resisting an infrastructure that fails to acknowledge landscape as taonga or treasure — denying local iwi as its kaitiaki (guardians) — this thesis contemplates a hybrid landscape architecture to mediate threshold conditions between the peninsula, lake and Mokoia Island, and reconcile a relationship between the community and landscape. Contending with a complex site of cultural conflict, the design intervenes with the crafting of a conceptual cloak, taking on the form of an architectural lake-scape negotiating this historical friction, and furthermore presenting an opportunity for reconciliation and progress. The Maori cloak motif, commonly translated through architecture as ornament or façade, often misses opportunities to reflect qualities inherent within its specific context. This thesis argues for an alternative interpretation of the cloak by interrogating its “re-translation” through processes of iterative making, craft and conceptual drawing. Developing a proposition, with its characteristics derived from the Ngati Whakaue legend of Hine-moa, the project is presented through a narrative that reflects on the romantic history of the peninsula, revealing connections between people, land and water to influence contemporary design that is specific to a Ngati Whakaue landscape context. Through the proposal of an urban cultural lake-scape, this thesis tests the translatability of the cloak motif by focusing on its tectonic, atmospheric and material potentials to propose new conditions for social and cultural reengagement with the land and lake at Hinemoa Point.