Up the Guts

Like many contemporary green field developments, Hataitai started in the twentieth century as stock grazing land and was slowly taken over by low density suburban housing. This organic development resulted in roads following the contours, making Hataitai difficult to walk in the neighbourhood and from the city to sea.

What kind of architecture emerges from a more walkable Hataitai and how does my creative process affect that architecture?

This project begins with the seemingly humble intervention of a pedestrian path, connecting from one traversing road to another. The design component of this research zooms into one path within a wider urban scheme to investigate the architectural possibilities and conflicts a single path could generate.

The research is in the work itself. I reflect on my creative process and how it starts to reveal a certain kind of architecture through my recognised inclinations, hunches and triggers. I primarily draw out the ideas on paper with pencil, using observation drawing, messy digital modeling and exhibiting work. Drawings form the raw data for this research. I analyse the drawings to extract my tacit knowledge so I form a dialogue between my creative process and the kind of architecture produced.

This research demonstrates the tension between designing complexity or legibility and explores how this could affect city-making for more places than the Hataitai hillside.