Our Place: Democratising Aotearoa's Architectural Identity

Abstract

New Zealand’s architectural identity is commonly portrayed as an embodiment of a well-established set of ideals. These ideals, which stem from the national myth of ‘the bach’, often see the architectural profession in Aotearoa represented solely through nuances of selected forms and materials in remote locations. Outcomes of this condition are found throughout the pages of local design press which reinforces the myth as the norm. While this contemporary architectural aesthetic is one that many New Zealanders find deeply familiar and have a desire for, it is in fact unattainable for the majority. This thesis looks to answer how this kind of ‘New Zealand architecture’ can be made more accessible for the greater population – while simultaneously critiquing and exposing the myth of the bach embedded within. Through careful exploration of architectural techniques employed throughout subject homes, an understanding of what exactly provides this architecture with such reverence among the population is sought. Picton was selected as the subject site as it is a township that, like many regional locations in New Zealand, has become home to ‘the bach’ – the architecturalised building typology in question - while also housing populations that are less likely to experience it. Picton is often viewed as the gateway for travel into the South Island, yet it has been somewhat neglected in recent years. The town of Picton therefore represents the disparities present in New Zealanders’ perception of architectural design, which results in a marginalisation of the architectural profession by the general population. Informed by research, and based on the typology of ‘the bach’, the thesis sees the realisation of a gateway park on Picton’s foreshore. The design sees the existing park, filled with an abundance of kitschiness in the form of site features, transform into a curated experience of Aotearoa’s leisure identity through architectural intervention. The currently understated features of the park are enhanced and linked together through contemporary architectural input, with new moments created as a direct result of anticipated public interaction. Altering the lens through which the architecture is viewed forces the aesthetic condition, with its limited variables, to be reworked in relation to a new context. The project takes all that the architecture means to us and offers an answer as to what else it could be. The challenge is to play architect with the variables to produce an outcome that still has a feeling of familiarity, yet has been recreated to bring change to the way in which this familiar architectural condition is perceived and experienced.