Telling many people's stories: exploring narrative architecture in the design of a multicultural building

Abstract

I am a Chinese Malaysian, currently living between Kelantan, Malaysia and Auckland, New Zealand, where I have been studying architecture. Starting my thesis year, two questions nagged at me; firstly, how do different immigrants arriving with different cultural baggage feel they might find a place for their culture here so they feel at home, and secondly, how as an architect do we respond to this challenge of cultural representation and relevancy for an increasingly multicultural population? As our communities become increasingly diverse, cultural buildings raise complex questions of representation and definition. In this thesis I shall investigate how the social and cultural representation of museum architecture depicts/portrays the narrative of a culturally diverse city. I shall apply my findings to a design for a multicultural building, a museum in Manukau City’s Hayman Park. The aim of the design is to address the urban revitalization of the city centre and provide a focus to the great cultural energy of South Auckland. The design will acknowledge the need for cultural spaces that enable memory, imagination and anticipation to engage different people and culture.