Abstract:
Throughout history, the othering of different people groups has been a driving force in creating conflict between neighbourhoods, territories and countries. This thesis is primarily motivated by the people and stories of these racial and ethnic divides. The events of March 15th 2019 in Christchurch shook Aotearoa, bringing these racial conflicts closer to home. Auckland is set to become one of the most diverse cities in the world in the next 20 years. Important to the ethnoracial makeup of Auckland are the refugees that have been forced out of their countries of origin and have made their way to Aotearoa, such as those that were attacked in Christchurch. Often their status as a refugee has been a result of othering. Mangere then becomes an important site as the location of the Refugee Resettlement Centre in New Zealand. This thesis looks at how architecture can intercede in this transforming landscape, where a high number of people from different backgrounds and worldviews live alongside one another. It seeks to take the results of its research in the othering of people groups to question how architecture can be used to bring people together? This is in an attempt to preempt the conflict inherently caused by othering, particularly ethnoracial conflicts. It begins to uncover why it happens, who are the people involved, and ultimately how it is resolved spatially in the built environment.