Brooke Bardell-Munro, finalist
Brooke Bardell-Munro
Photo by David St George
Brooke Bardell-Munro, from the University of Auckland School of Architecture, was a finalist at the 2016 NZIA Central Innovation Student Design Awards for her project ‘Paradise is an island so is hell’.
Project description
What better way to dispel the romantic notion of New Zealand as a far-flung British-Arcadia – as seen on TV and through tourism strategies – than through a de-extinction park, a tourist attraction where a curious public flocks to revel in the glory of humankind’s triumph over death. In this study, the Hauraki Gulf’s Rotoroa and Pakatoa Islands are reimagined through a lens of speculative and satirical architecture that exposes the areas where science pursues control over nature, and illustrates ever-shifting ethical boundaries and existing archetypes of conservation.
Citation
In this world of fantastic beasts and environments the validity of New Zealand’s claims to environmental purity are put under a satirical microscope. With a sharp wit, wicked sense of humour and exquisite delivery, Brooke’s islands of “de-extinction” reveal the work of a perfectionist, working with symmetry and colour to question this country’s visage of perfection.
