Bradley MacPherson from Waipapa Taumata Rau, The University of Auckland, Te Pare School of Architecture and Planning is a finalist for his project 'Along The Arahura'.
Judges citation
Depth of thinking is elegantly portrayed in the nexus point where art, architecture and culture intersect. Beautiful narratives are revealed in spatially sophisticated propositions and the designer’s models present as artworks in their own right.
Connection to whenua is revealed in peeling back the layered history of people living in the beautiful landscape, showing that the tide has turned in how architecture interacts with whenua – it’s no longer about the architect. Our built fabric will be entirely different in 50 years and this project reveals the new cultural identity being created.
The design confronts an array of contradictions – tapu and noa, historic and contemporary, light and dark – with discomfort relieved by hope. The journey culminates in a proposition that merges tourism, culture and art in a beautiful setting.
Project description
Along The Arahura proposes that the whenua of Aotearoa be treated as sacred not only due to its protection in the face of climate change but also because it is key to identity.
The link between land and identity is explored through the lens of te ao Māori and modernist art in Aotearoa New Zealand, and is revealed in a bridge, an artist’s residency and chapel-gallery. The bridge design is informed by the oral history and traditions of Ngāi Tahu and Māori art, while the artist residency and gallery have emerged from research into art from the 1930s.
