Abstract:
2020 marks New Zealand’s Auckland Indian Association’s 100th anniversary. Due to overcrowding, scarcity in resources, and an increase in land cost, my courageous ancestors left their home country India, in the hopes of settling in a land of opportunity and providing prosperity for generations to come. These brave travellers brought with them, their stories, their many gods and spices, and a culture deeply embedded in the art of living.
With no knowledge of Māori or wider New Zealand culture on arrival, our ancestors adapted to new cultures, while maintaining traditional practices. Since then, generations have evolved, and the cultural and identification margins have shifted. While the Gujrati community have adopted biculturalism, much is viewed from a western perspective as opposed to a formal traditional eastern, therefore placing traditional Hindu practices, knowledge, and languages at risk of being lost.
This thesis speculates how architectural design methodologies informed by Hindu and Māori traditions, principles, and concepts can help in identification forming and knowledge transfer for ‘Kiwi Indians’ in the Gujrati community living in Auckland, New Zealand.
I propose a new community centre for the Gujarati community. It identifies synergies between the customs and beliefs of Hindu and Māori culture and the deeply rooted connection to nature and the universe. It is the intention of my final architectural proposal that it will create a space of contemplation, understanding and a realisation of one’s self.