He Kōrero me te Kaihoahoa

The community engagement process between government departments, Māori communities and architects has, for the most part, been previously overlooked in Aotearoa and is often grounded in Western norms and value sets. Co-design is becoming a buzzword for engagement and collaborative design in the architectural sector with public projects from government departments in Aotearoa. Co-design is a derivative term of participatory design, originating from Scandinavia in the 1970s. It is a democratic values-based process motivated by designing with, not for, people. In Aotearoa, the co-design process has the potential to create social and cultural shifts from colonial mindsets and values. Co-design can potentially address power imbalances between architects, Māori communities, and government departments. This social and cultural mindset shift towards the design process acknowledges that Eurocentric co-design processes are not suitable for the bicultural architectural context of Aotearoa.

Bicultural architecture in Aotearoa reflects the partnership between signatories of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, Tangata Whenua and Tangata Tiriti. The tino rangatiratanga (autonomy) of Māori must be asserted in the co-design process. To ensure tino rangatiratanga is asserted, it is necessary that kaupapa Māori methodology for co-design is implemented, ensuring that the co-design process is culturally grounded in the values of the community, iwi and hapū. Culturally grounded co-design processes that reflect the values of the people and the land create buildings with a unique architectural identity that resonate with a sense of place in Aotearoa.

This thesis aims to develop and implement a meaningful and reciprocal co-design process between Whakarewarewa Thermal Village Charitable Trust (representatives of Tūhourangi Ngāti-Wāhiao hapū), their scientific research partner, The MacDiarmid Institute and myself, the architectural researcher. The co-design process develops a conceptual design for a Mātauranga Science Education Centre at Whakarewarewa Thermal Village, Rotorua that resonates with the identity of Tūhourangi Ngāti-Wāhiao. The co-design process is implemented through wānanga and hui between Whakarewarewa Thermal Village Charitable Trust and The MacDiarmid Institute. The shared values of the partnership guide the co-design process to ensure the assertion of tino rangatiratanga for Tūhourangi Ngāti-Wāhiao. This co-design partnership culminated in a conceptual design for the Mātauranga Science Education Centre that embodies the narratives and identity of Tūhourangi Ngāti-Wāhiao hapū. The thesis outcome is a significant milestone for the long-term educational vision for Tūhourangi Ngāti-Wāhiao people and The MacDiarmid Institute. To establish a world-class Mātauranga Science Education Centre at Whakarewarewa Thermal Village, Rotorua.