Towards Contemporary Papakāinga Inspired Urban State Housing

With Wellington city set to accommodate up to 80,000 new residents by 2050. An increasing need for affordable housing for lower socioeconomic family groups affected by the current housing and living crisis. The current demand for state housing in urban centres is increasingly high, and for the right type of home needed for large families. However, with Aotearoa New Zealand having a history of state housing intended for a Pākehā way of living, it is arguable that new state housing solutions are only just starting to consider achieving equal outcomes for different ways of living. Although state housing inherently has the duty of supporting equality with affordable homes, it should also be suited to address imbalance in quality of life and allow freedom for different family groups to live how they choose.

This thesis’ central concern is to explore design ideas for a social housing and community development that help create adequate homes and improve equitable outcomes, in Aotearoa New Zealand’s cities. At first the research will examine the architectural design of a Papakāinga by following current Māori housing solutions – as Māori disproportionately account for half of the state housing register. After a personal realisation that the research should be within what I know as a Pākehā, the thesis shifts to examine the architectural design of a flexible large family home, urban community, and serving the needs of the families with of varying circumstance, way of life, or composition, including urban Māori.

The thesis will achieve this through two design research investigations that explore a new typology for social housing in Aotearoa New Zealand’s cities. The first design research phase examines the design of an urban Papakāinga and the second looks at the large family state home and accompanying community spaces. The purpose of the studies is to address problems in existing state home design that should allow for greater equity and new ways of thinking must solve and illustrated through iterative design ideas. A design brief and criteria were used to evaluate the design research, and was established from literature study, existing housing development typologies, and housing precedents.

It concludes with a design that integrates key learnings of the research and recommendations for future social home design and adjoining communities by suggesting it were a method for creating equitable social housing outcomes specific yet flexible to the families and communities who need them, whilst celebrating them as an integral part of the urban environment.