1. i
Though increased intensification along the coast is usually
regarded today as an idea to be opposed, the present
research is carried out in the hopes of providing a new
paradigmthroughwhichhigherdensitycanbecompatible
with New Zealand’s coastal culture. The sprawling single
detached house archetype for coastal occupation does
not provide the necessary access to the coastal border
that more concentrated development could. In order to
address the limitations of the traditional coastal typology
where universal direct access to the coastal border can
be limited by sprawl, this research seeks to develop a
sensitive response to the need for coastal density.
Landscape is often misconstrued to be natural when
in fact it is often quite the opposite. Landscape is an
interpretation of site. This interpretation is dependent
on understanding a site’s ecological, anthropological and
archaeological characteristics.
The Ecological Landscape is perhaps the most common
method of seeing the site and is commonly mistaken
as being synonymous with nature. It takes into
consideration the site’s modified and natural features such
as terrain and flora/fauna. Secondly, the anthropological
facet of landscape considers its occupation and the
political and social issues that affect the site. Lastly, a
2. iii
site’s Archaeological Landscape takes into account the
ways in which previous occupation has left an imprint
on the present form through physical artifacts and the
methods engaged to maintain a link to its past. Through
investigation along these three threads, a site’s true
landscape is revealed is revealed as a sum of these aspects.
Although any approach that calls into question a
prevailing bias against increased development is likely
to become controversial, such controversy need not be
synonymous with conflict. A nuanced view of landscape
can reconcile various biases towards or against intensive
development on sensitive sites. Such reconciliation is
critical if we are to avoid a standoff that is bound to result
from the pressures of an ever-increasing population and
limited space, coupled with a fervent protection for areas
of scenic beauty - the consequences of an overly simplistic
dichotomy between stasis and progress.
Increased density often evokes ideas of confinement,
which challenges the freedom associated with New
Zealand’s inherent coastal culture. Absolute protection
of the coastal border prohibiting further development
compromises a central tenet of the New Zealand lifestyle.
Current regulations do not acknowledge the possibility of
designing empathically with the landscape so as to enable
increased density while preserving the bach lifestyle.
An understanding of the the site’s ecological character
3. v
enable the programme of the proposed development
to be implemented while adhering to its defined area.
Investigations into the Anthropological Landscape reveal
the site’s layered occupation by Maori and European
groups. Their modes of living provide the basis for
tailoring formal and spatial design outcomes while the
specific artifacts that have been found both on the site
and in the vicinity are used to inform the underlying
conceptual ideas and material characteristics. This
expressionofthesite’slandscapeenablesthecontemporary
condition to maintain a dialogue with the past.
An in-depth relationship with landscape is necessary in
order to design congruously in the contemporary New
Zealand context. This is demonstrated through this
proposal for higher density occupation on a sensitive
coastal site. The resultant model expounds how
opportunities for coastal living can be increased while
preserving the values intrinsic to the New Zealand
lifestyle.
6. 1
“When an architectural design draws solely from the
tradition and only repeats the dictates of its site, I sense a
lackofagenuineconcernwiththeworldandtheemanations
of contemporary life. If a work of architecture speaks only
of contemporary trends and sophisticated visions without
triggering vibrations in its place, this work is not anchored
in its site, and I miss the specific gravity of the ground it
stands on.”
1
Tomany,thewordlandscapesimplyimpliestheterrainand
natural features of the location being discussed. Though
the geomorphological and ecological aspects of site do
constitute elements of a landscape, they by no means
represent it in its entirety. The first part of this research
serves to define landscape through its constituent layers
of its Ecological, Anthropological and Archaeological
characters. Through interpretation and consideration of
these strata, it will be shown how proposed occupations
of the site are able to respond sensitively, narrating the
site’s genius loci and appreciating its existence as the
contemporary layer in a coastal palimpsest.
It is often the Ecological layer of the palimpsest that is
misunderstood to represent landscape in its entirety.
However, as opposed to its observation as a static
1 Peter Zumthor, Thinking architecture, 2nd, expanded ed.
(Basel: Birkhäuser, 2006). 42.
7. 3
collectionofelements,theunderstandingthatitcomprises
dynamic and ever-changing ecological systems integrated
with its geomorphology is crucial. The differentiation
between nature and artifice is also fundamental. Though
elements of nature compose the scenes commonly taken
as landscape, the latter is seen as a representation of
the former. Due to human activity and ideologies (The
Anthropological Landscape) the majority of land and
its ecosystems has been shaped by our influences and
often quite significantly. Hence it must be accepted that
although natural systems have a role in the formation of
our environments, the often hidden artifice of human
intervention must also be acknowledged. In doing so,
the current viewpoints regarding protection of so-called
‘natural landscapes’ are challenged so that the outcomes
of future development respect a sensitive connection to
the site.
The Anthropological Landscape represents the social and
cultural issues relevant to the site as a consequence of
human occupation. Taken as a collection of layers that
reflect various instances of occupation of the site, an
understanding of the cultural relationships to the land
and nature underlies spatial manifestations and treatment
of social constructs. In the comprehension of these
aspects and their effects on social logics, the relevance of
current systems such as those that define our boundary-
making and spatial arrangements can be questioned.
8. 5
The subsequent reinterpretation of these methodologies,
addressing both the history that enables our being while
creating solutions that exemplify contemporary views
and relationships, enables a considered architectonic
response. This response will address the new social
pressures exerted on the site, such as the continued
increase in population and the resultant need for higher
density, combined with a respect for the vernacular.
Through the layers of the Anthropological Landscape,
there remain physical vestiges of inhabitation in the
form of archaeological remains and artifacts. As the
tangible elements of an understandable but unknowable
past, the trappings of history have become intertwined
with the ideas of identity and place-making. Although
the analytical protection and display of artifacts as
objects is imperative to an appreciation of history, the
potential interpretation of these relics into architectonic
cues must be considered. Identity and belonging is
often assumed through the reproduction and repetition
of heritage characteristics and traditions; from idyllic
country towns to the appeal of vintage-styled products.
Through the assumed connection between heritage and
identity, though comforting, a site is engendered with
a generic history. For the narration of its true historic
characteristics, a site must appeal to individual human
responses. An understanding of place requires both
the evocation of remembered experiences as well as the
9. 7
formationofnewmemories. Contemporaryinterventions
within the coastal palimpsest must therefore present a
narrative of history that relies not on the presentation of
the object, but manifests as a framework for interaction
and experience.
The impacts of these strands on the landscape, and
hence identity, is largely unconscious. It is through the
understanding and appreciation of these elements that
the genius of a place is expressed. The application of
these ideas to a theoretical proposal for development
is undertaken on a sensitive coastal site. The site is at
present regulated by stringent bureaucratic controls that
seek to preserve elements of a landscape misconstrued to
be natural. The coming decades will experience increases
in population: with an intrinsic coastal culture and an
aversion to increased density, these conflicts must be
resolved in order to provide sensitive responses through
the design of future developments. By addressing
the antecedents to current thinking throughout the
three threads of landscape, a new paradigm for coastal
developments is explored.
10.
11. 11
“Although landscapes are created by humans, many
landscapes conceal this human intervention.”2
The Ecological Landscape is composed of both the
natural features of a site, as well as the modification of
these elements. Nature is defined as “the phenomena of
the physical world collectively…features and products of
the earth, as opposed to humans or human creation.”
3
Although the Oxford Dictionary includes landscape in its
definition of nature, this dialogue aims to challenge this
idea of landscape as a singular entity equivalent to nature
and to present it as an integral part of the Ecological
Landscape; an element of landscape as a palimpsest. It can
then be understood that the effects of nature - wind, rain,
tides and the like – on the geomorphology and ecology are
responsible for natural creation and modification within
the Ecological Landscape. In contrast, the effects of
erosion due to repeated foot traffic can then be identified
as human modification.
2 Susan Herrington, On landscapes, Thinking in action (New
York: Routledge, 2009). 4.
3 Angus Stevenson and Lesley Brown, Shorter Oxford English
dictionary on historical principles, 6th ed., 2 vols. (Oxford ;
New York: Oxford University Press, 2007).
12. 13
Landscape architect and academic Susan Herrington
identifies the ‘made’ quality of what is commonly seen
as a natural landscape, “landscape is the hidden art. It’s
everywhere and it’s part of everyone’s life.”4
Art and
its creation are purely the result of human intellect,
necessitating interpretation and emotion5
. Yet despite
the ubiquity of the so-called landscape, elements of
human authorship are largely disregarded. Art on such
an omnipresent scale, it seems, can be easily mistaken as
being beyond our capabilities. In additions to the issue
of scale, the imprints of human interaction occur whether
consciously undertaken or not. Often as an unconscious
art, modification of site is passed off as the result of
natural formation. It can then be seen that conflicted
authorship of Ecological Landscapes is at the roots of
widespread misconceptions of landscape as natural6
.
The human element in the Ecological Landscape must be
understood with a certain level of distance from, but also
in conjunction with, nature’s contributions. This dialectic
between nature and artifice is the terrain of the Ecological
Landscape.
4 Herrington, On landscapes: vii.
5 Stevenson and Brown, Shorter Oxford English dictionary on
historical principles.
6 Herrington, On landscapes: 28.
13. 15
We Occupy A Modified Construct
“humanscreatelandscapes,soweshouldidentifylandscapes
as artifice, not as external nature.”7
At our stage in history, the majority of Ecological
Landscapes around us cannot be thought of as untouched
by human influence. Human interference has in effect
turned us, at least in part, into the designers of these
Ecological Landscapes. They are also continually affected
by natural processes over which humans have no direct
control that impact significantly on their character and
appearance over time.
Several of the areas that are thought to be ‘natural
landscapes’ today are in fact man-made spaces. An
example of this is New York’s Central Park:
“people visiting New York City often think that Central Park was
just there, and the city was built up around it, with designers
adding buildings, roads, fountains, and paths along the way. They
are unaware of the massive physical transformations made to the
341 hectares of swamp land and rock outcrop in the nineteenth
century. These transformations involved the importation of four
million cubic meters of dirt for fill and hill creation, rock blasting
that required 350 metric tons of gunpowder, planting 270, 000
trees and shrubs, and tragically, the removal of one of Manhattan’s
first African American villages, Seneca, which was home to 1600
people.”8
7 Ibid., 7.
8 The Library of Congress, “Today in History: April 26,”
14. 17
The extensive use of natural elements – soil, rock, plants
– within a composition does not in turn transform the
final result into a natural scene. However, the tendency
to readily accept these artworks as nature has lead to
the protection of areas based on this falsity. People will
assume that a place is a part of the natural landscape if
it has the appearance of having been in existence for a
while, or its brevity of existence is masked by prolific
vegetation. This tendency is acknowledged by Bridget
Baines, lead designer for landscape architecture firm
Gross Max when she noted that “if you want people to
take your landscape as a given, plant fast-growing trees
and grasses, and people will fight to save them.”9
It is
this readiness to protect the appearance of nature that has
lead to New Zealand’s fierce protection of scenic areas of
the Ecological Landscape.
It could also be seen that New Zealand’s “clean, green”
marketing methodologies have also contributed to
this enthusiastic preservation, with public support
both stemming from and occurring because of these
attitudes. Claims such as “Coastal development threatens
landscapes and eco-systems through out New Zealand.
Our coastline’s natural character is being eroded by
rampant development”10
by groups such as those focused
on ‘saving’ areas such as Te Arai11
often omit the fact that
these Ecological Landscapes have in fact previously been
occupied and modified.
memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/apr26.html.
9 Herrington, On landscapes: 30.
10 Grant La Hood, “HELP SAVE Te Arai,” http://www.
savetearai.co.nz/.
11 an area less than 50km South of Smugglers Bay, the site
chosen for this design proposal
15. 19
Though the area may appear as “untouched New Zealand
coastline being developed for housing…”12
, previous
Maori occupation is responsible for the established
forests that are included in this stretch of supposedly
‘untouched’ coast. The concerns for areas such as these
are largely conservational; at Te Arai, there is great
concern for the New Zealand Fairy Tern (New Zealand’s
rarest bird) among several other species of avifauna13
.
Though it cannot be argued that development will not
impact the ecologies of the site, appropriately designed
higher intensity developments within a contained area
can assist in the prevention of excessive deterioration of
natural habitats, and can enhance conservation initiatives.
It can also be demonstrated that the limited footprints
and sensitive responses of these potential developments
can provide far superior amenities and ecological
outcomes as compared to current patterns of gradual yet
relentless sprawl. This alternative method of occupation
is presented in the light that populations will continue to
increase and the allure of New Zealand’s scenic coastlines
will persevere.
Demand for occupation and development will, as a result,
continue to rise. By preventing sensitive development
initiatives that enriches these areas and contribute
another layer to our fecund coastal palimpsest, current
development values exacerbating sprawl will prevail.
12 La Hood, “HELP SAVE Te Arai”.
13 J.E. Dowding, “Potential Impacts On Shorebirds Of A
Proposed Subdivision At Te Arai, North Auckland,” (DM
Consultants, 2006), 5.
16. 21
The resistance to development of coastal areas is
indicative of a type of “anti-development sentiment”14
as observed in J.S. and Nancy Duncan’s study of the
residents of Bedford. The study set out to illustrate that
aesthetic qualities of landscape and their protection are
enmeshed with a society’s class system, hierarchy and
identity. The occupants of Bedford maintained specific
characteristics in order to portray an image of ‘natural’
development – applying an aesthetic code that implied
a longevity of existence and therefore, of belonging to
the Ecological Landscape. The proposal for a newer
development at Bedford was met with strong opposition
on the basis that it would degrade its beauty and reduce
its appeal. Fundamentally, these attitudes are indicative
of views that nature and belonging to nature is ‘good’,
whereas deviation from the natural must in turn be ‘bad’.
In turn, these sentiments became apparent with the
acceptance that scenes mimicking nature were ‘good’, and
those that expressed their manmade characteristics were
‘bad15
. The negative connotations surrounding modern
proposals in coastal areas and occupations carries similar
tones to the views regarding new development in Bedford.
The convergence of nature with moral integrity can be
thought to stem from an established dialogue between
nature and humanity.
14 James S. Duncan and Nancy Duncan, Landscapes of
privilege: the politics of the aesthetic in an American suburb
(New York: Routledge, 2004). 76.
15 Herrington, On landscapes: 7.
17. 23
Views On Nature And The Perceived Landscape
“I avoided ever using the oxymoron ‘the natural
landscape’.”16
The discourse surrounding landscape is vast, with most
theorists and those inclined to discuss the topic eager
to admit the ambiguities it entails. The Ecological
Landscape is a concoction of ideas and theories tempered
with, according to all those involved in its discussion,
matters of perception. Its vastness of interpretation
stems from its multitude of facets, from its representation
of nature as an artistic genre to its importance as our
immediate environment imbued with the ideologies of
our predecessors.
Human relationships with nature have been expressed
through a variety of attitudes towards the Ecological
Landscape. The idea that nature is ‘good’ can be seen
as stemming from theological belief systems. Many of
these ideological systems tend to see nature as some
form of origin for man. Residents of Te Arai refer to the
their location as the “Garden of Eden.”17
As the setting
for Adam and Eve, the Garden of Eden underlies the
concept that nature has existed since time immemorial
and is integral to human existence. Te Arai’s Ecological
Landscape seen as correspondent to nature posits it as
16 Geoff Park, Theatre country : essays on landscape & whenua
(Wellington, N.Z.: Victoria University Press, 2006). 9.
17 Dylan Thorne, “Te Arai: We don’t want Orewa II,” The
Northern Advocate(2006), http://www.northernadvocate.co.nz/news/
te-arai-we-dont-want-orewa-ll/960478/.
18. 25
‘good’ and morally decent and insights its protection.
Though by no means the only belief system with strong
connectionstonature,EuropeanadherencetoChristianity
has influenced much of today’s Ecological Landscape
through its interpretations. Long-standing traditions of
modifying terrain and gardens to be representative of our
origins is a result of this connection. Within the realm
of landscape design, the twentieth century saw efforts to
artfully reproduce scenes representative of nature; that is,
as if they were a product of nature as opposed to man.
“As a result, signs of human authorship in the design of landscapes
were often disguised. Artificial stone was carefully crafted to
simulate rock outcrops, soil was imported and shaped to mimic
the land forms left by some long-departed glacier, and vegetation
was installed to resemble naturally occurring ecosystems, such as
meadows.”18
Subsequent challenges to belief systems and the
emergence of scientific theories regarding both our
origins and nature were visible in society’s treatment of
the Ecological Landscape.
Perhaps the way in which nature as system is interpreted
– static or dynamic – has also determined the ways in
which we react to the Ecological Landscape. A static
interpretation of natural systems appeals to the notion
that ecosystems occur in a specific location.
For example, bioregionalists attempted to define political
areas based on the boundaries demonstrated by ecological
18 Herrington, On landscapes: 5.
19. 27
communities. As Herrington comments however, to
“freeze life in a geographic region is to counter nature,
its evolutionary processes of spatial diffusion though
exchange and migration.”19
This can be seen as in conflict
with the concept of a dynamic ecological system where
the community as a whole adjusts and adapts and is
accepted as in a state of continual modification. Darwin’s
The Origin of Species fostered a change in understanding
from the static to the dynamic. This mode of thought
viewed nature as in a constant state of flux, liberating
new understandings of both the human role in nature’s
framework and our relationship to it. The dichotomy
between nature as origin and nature as constantly
changing draw significantly different outcomes. In a
different stance to twentieth century landscape designers,
contemporary efforts often reveal their manmade origins
in an attempt to clarify their presence as distinct from
nature’s product and include in their designs a capacity
for change20
. Should coastal sites be seen within a
system of perpetual evolution, propositions for coastal
developments might be more readily embraced.
Although our ancestors’ treatment of the Ecological
Landscape was influenced by their relationships to nature,
this by no means indicates that it was anything less than
dramatic.
It is often idealized that our predecessors led a life in tune
with nature. In fact, early civilizations are responsible
19 Ibid., 56.
20 Ibid., ix.
20. 29
for drastic reconfigurations of terrain and disruption to
ecosystems. The following examples given by Herrington
indicate the extent to which some of our earlier societies
modified our Ecological Landscape:
“the quest to build ships in Europe – for trade as well as war –
depleted the continent of prime timber, which in turn increased
flooding of urban areas, damaged crops, and reduced the amounts
of wild game for hunting. When Europeans discovered America,
many of its inhabitants had already dramatically shaped the land
with massive effigy mounds and artificial mountains, such as Monk’s
Mound in Illinois (800 – 1350), and extensive roadway systems,
such as the remarkably straight roads made by the Anasazi (900
– 1150). As Europeans began farming North America they faced
the vagaries of extreme weather (such as droughts), pest infestation,
resource depletion, and labor shortages. We also know their farming
practices were often wasteful, and did not contribute to sustaining a
collective life with nature.”21
Nature writer and ecologist Geoff Park in discussions
regarding both the Pacific awareness of nature and
the fusing of modern and traditional conservation
techniques notes that customary life as a part of nature
“had to include wasteful exploitation and the gradual
depletion of a resource as much as observation of nature’s
rhythms and phenomena.”22
With such impetus towards
21 Ibid., 35-36.
22 Park, Theatre country : essays on landscape & whenua: 15.
21. 31
environmental modification, it can only be through
willful ignorance that today’s Ecological Landscapes are
accepted as natural.
Outstanding Landscapes
“Post-modern people are proverbial tourists, seeking to
imbibe the histories of other times and/or cultures as part
of who they are.”
Areas of Ecological Landscapes have so convincingly
portrayed themselves as established features that
bureaucratic regulations now preserve their vast
exhibitions of unquestioned nature.
Although an element of cultural significance and heritage
are said to affect the identification areas as Outstanding
Landscapes, the decision is based primarily on aesthetic
qualities present in the Ecological Landscape. Because
of this, the discussed issues of the human relationship
with nature and its societal interpretations are brought
to the fore.
Throughout policy documents outlining the need for
preservation of these areas, it can be seen that nature is
22. 33
viewed as a static system where any change is viewed as
negative. Modification of these areas disregarding the
wider context would be detrimental, but all change cannot
and should not be avoided. Natural processes are also
viewed as both positive and negative, with influences that
maintain the current features of an Ecological Landscape
viewed as acceptable while those that modify to effect a
permanent change in the terrain are threatening.
“The primary causes of impacts on outstanding natural features
and landscape are natural processes (e.g. floods or erosion) and
human activities. While natural processes such as erosion and
weathering may slowly degrade some landscapes or features, they
can also maintain others such as dune systems and exposed rock
outcrops. There is generally little justification for interfering in
these processes. Human activity can have significant impacts on
natural features and landscapes…Human activity can also modify
natural processes and thereby worsen erosion, change waterways
and / or increase the impacts of pest plants and animals.”23
Outstanding Landscapes in the Northland context aim
to encourage a “cultural and social identity, providing
a sense of ‘place in the world’ and a source of intrinsic
public value.”24
23 Northland Regional Council, “Outstanding Natural
Features and Landscapes,” in New Regional Policy Statement -
Background Documents (Northland Regional Council), 4.
24 Ibid., 1.
23. 35
At present, the cultural and social identities represented
by these designations are remnants of dated theories and
irrational fears of change. As context and circumstances
evolve, the perpetuation of these philosophies will only
serve to amplify the disjoint between progress and
identity.
24. 37
Before any form of direct human interaction with
a site, the landscape is made up of simply the
Ecological Landscape; that is, the Anthropological and
Archaeological Landscapes only come into play once
an instance of human interaction has occurred. Once
the site has experienced a form of human occupation,
an understanding of the living patterns that were
applied to the site becomes important. The denizen
society’s relationship with land underlies many of the
spatial characteristics of a settlement, including issues of
boundary-making and density.
Phases Of Occupation And Their Relationship To The
Land
Before 900 AD, the estimated arrival of Maori to
Aotearoa25
, it could be assumed that the tripartite
landscape was analogous with nature; untouched by
any form of human occupation. Their arrival marked
the start of a change in landscape. Though their arrival
would physically alter the terrain on which they existed
(the Ecological Landscape), Maori cultural attitudes and
perceptions of relationship to the land are antecedents to
political issues we still face today.
25 Tanira Kingi, “Maori landownership and land management
in New Zealand,” ed. Australian Agency for
International Development, Volume
Two - Case Studies on customary land and
development in the Pacific (2008).
26. 39
This first phase of occupation marks the inception of New
Zealand’s Anthropological Landscape.
The second phase of occupation in New Zealand’s
settlement history can be recognized as the arrival of
British settlers in the 1840s. New Zealand was discovered
by Tasman approximately 200 years prior to this point in
history, with several successive events facilitating contact
between European and Maori including Cook’s arrival in
the late 1800s and the arrival of missionaries in the early
1900s. Although these events initiated change in existing
Maori societal values, Britain’s efforts in colonizing New
Zealand imposed the strongest ideological changes on the
Anthropological Landscape.
As opposed to the sole ownership model that prevails
in current, post-settlement society, for Maori land titles
were not held by a single person or commodities to be
traded. This attitude toward the land can be reduced to a
matter of how people’s relationship to the land was seen;
that people own the land (European ideal)26
or belong to
the land (pre-European ideal) - Plate 1.
26 “When capitalist economies and industrial practices
developed in Northern Europe, and eventually in
North America, the notion of land as the bearer of
sustenance was supplanted with land as property.
This altered our relationship with land from appreciating its
productive capacities to support life and structure
society to envisioning it as simply another commodity for
acquisition along with jewels, cars, and clothing.”
Herrington, On landscapes: 34.
27. 41
This idea of the land (Ecological Landscape) having more
significance than the people who inhabit it stems from
the customary creation myth that
“humans were produced from a union between earth mother
(papatuanuku) and sky father (ranginui). The Maori term for
land, whenua, also means placenta and the term for people, tangata
whenua, means born of the earth’s womb. With these beliefs and the
understanding that land is permanent and human life is transient,
Maori considered the association with land more in terms of
‘belonging to’ rather than ‘owning’.”27
Though of concern to Maori, because of this hierarchical
importance of the land over people, land ownership was
seen in less definite terms than the ideologies assumed by
settler beliefs. Groups – iwi, hapu, whanau28
– exercised
differentiation in rights of use of certain areas, but
assumed no supreme ownership of the land occupied.
These groups could all potentially occupy the same
or overlapping land areas but had rights to different
activities within them; one group could fish in an area
while another would cultivate crops.29
27 Kingi, “Maori landownership and land management in New
Zealand.”
28 Iwi means tribe, hapu are the clans/groups within an iwi,
and whanau means family or extended family that
make up the hapu.
29 Jim McAloon, “Land ownership - Maori and land
ownership,” Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New
Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/land-ownership/1.
28. 43
Itisthesediscrepanciesinunderstanding,andpotentially,
their exploitation by settlers that has lead to current and
prolonged debates regarding the Treaty of Waitangi.
These ownership values are indicative of the societal
focus on the group as opposed to the individual. As a
consequence, treatment of boundary conditions within
Maori settlements reflects these communal tendencies.
Living spaces and huts are grouped in areas that are
fenced off, with shared cooking facilities. The communal
mentality has manifested in the formation of structures
designed for a singular activity undertaken by a large
group, such as the wharekai (eating house) and wharenui
(meeting house).
In stark contrast to the view that people are of the land,
British settlers were influenced by a more Darwinian
view and hence, a will to assert their dominance over
the land. As one of the first moves in creating a British
colony, Edward Gibbon Wakefield and the New Zealand
Company proceeded to subdivide New Zealand’s terrain
into gridded sections to be easily traded, irrespective
of topography and the existing Ecological Landscape30
.
Once seen as a commodity to be bought and sold, claims
were staked and boundaries became both fiercely defined
and protected.
30 Park, Theatre country : essays on landscape & whenua: 36.
29. 45
The potential for outright ownership has meant that over
time the result has been “quarter-acre suburban sprawl,
where Arcadian privacy and equal opportunity preserve
the boundless country of the colonial mind.”31
In a sense, the colonial method of boundary-making
employed in the preliminary subdivision of New Zealand
can be seen as an extension of Britain’s ‘political landscape’.
Though landscape historian J.B. Jackson’s context for his
example of the ‘political landscape’ is the United States, the
following observation is relevant to our austral context:
“the boundary in a political landscape often bears little relationship
to the society within it…In the nineteenth century we created a
number of states which were in effect immense rectangular spaces
having no relation to the topography of population.”32
This disconnect between boundary and the society it
contains can be seen as an evolutionary byproduct of the
impositionoforiginalsettlerrelationshipstothelandover
time; imposing a rigid, rational organization to “nature’s
empty chaos.”33
Over time, society has simply reiterated
and reproduced colonial logic, perpetuating a system of
boundary-making that was never intended to address the
densities of occupation that we face at present.
31 Ibid., 48.
32 John Brinckerhoff Jackson, Discovering the vernacular
landscape (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1984). 14.
33 Park, Theatre country : essays on landscape & whenua: 48.
30. 47
The way in which this has elicited a tendency for sprawl
is elaborated by Jackson, “when dwellings were of
necessity brought closer together in towns and cities,
the sacred enclosure persisted in the form of a low wall,
a ditch, or even a mere open space a few feet wide.”34
Even as rectangular plots become smaller and the need
for dwellings in closer proximity arises, there prevails
an inherent need to define “the linear boundary, duly
surveyed, registered, and indicated on the landscape...”35
New Zealand’s Northland region is expecting a
population increase of 12.5%, and within that an increase
of 20% by Whangarei36
. Being an established holiday
area, as the resident population of these areas increase,
it can be expected that the transient tourist numbers will
also rise. With no part of Northland being more than
40km from the coast, the conflict between people and
space arises. Northland, and New Zealand in general,
has a strong coastal culture. This stems, assumedly,
from a variety of notions including our proximity at any
point within the country to the coast, endemic creation
myths and values, as well as the curiosity that much of
our current post-colonial population have not “drifted
from the beachheads of first arrival.”37
That a significant
proportion of New Zealand coastal regions are protected
34 Jackson, Discovering the vernacular landscape: 14.
35 Ibid., 15.
36 Northland Regional Council, “Infrastructure,” New Regional
Policy Statement: Background Documents, 3.
37 Park, Theatre country : essays on landscape & whenua: 49.
31. 49
as D.O.C Public Conservation Land and Outstanding
Landscapes in particular then poses a dilemma for
population growth. The dilemma arises not in reaction to
this classification and protection of coastal land, but to an
innate predisposition to oppose development proposals
that deviate from our construct of the organizational grid
and boundless sprawl.
Population increase invariably leads to questions of
where these increased numbers will occupy, and the want
to settle in coastal regions is unwavering. In order to best
satisfy both protection and habitation needs, increased
density within defined bounds will become a necessity;
preserving public access while providing habitable areas.
However, models of development appear to consistently
incorporate the legacy of nineteenth century political
boundaries of rectangular plots, clearly distinguishing
ownership of ‘mine’ and ‘yours’ and the power of ‘us’ over
the land.
Bach Culture
“The typology of the modest New Zealand holiday house, called the
‘bach’, began its life as a way to avoid the city and even, for many
men, avoid the family. Indeed, it was a place to avoid much of
what New Zealand culture was, and instead indulge in a supposedly
uncultured landscape.”38
This ‘New Zealand culture’ that architect Sam Kebbell is
38 Sam Kebbell, “Interiors in the Land of the Great Outdoors,”
in IDEA (Interior Design Educators of Australasia) Inside-Out
(Domain House, Melbourne2005). 3.
32. Plate 2. The Evolution of Sprawl: The exertion of boundary conditions on the environment of bach culture.
1.
2.
3.
4.
33. 51
identifying can be seen as the same post-colonial culture
as elucidated by Park. As such, our coastal culture can
be seen as our antipodean society going through its
teenage years, rebelling. New Zealand’s effort in breaking
free from its roots as a British colony and in opposition
to the occupation of demarcated and predefined lots,
baches appeared “jerry-built on crown land”39
With its
beginnings as an attempt to indulge in an ‘uncultured
landscape’, bach culture has indisputably developed into
a prevailing aspect of New Zealand’s Anthropological
Landscape.
In its incipiency, bach culture successfully enabled
the type of repose that individuals sought, offering
a departure from the constraints of post-European
bureaucratic regulations. In essence, the infancy of bach
culture was observed largely in the margins of society and
the Ecological Landscape. However, in a battle between
relaxed ambivalence and “intelligent control,”40
the
latter has revived the Darwinian mentality of our settler
predecessors, re-exerting a need to mark out and define
conquered space. This idea is illustrated diagrammatically
in Plate 2., where the situations one and two represent the
building of baches wherever one wished on ‘unlabelled’
land, and the following situations identify the reign of
capitalist tendencies and settler initiatives.
As bach culture has been diverted from its initial
imperatives and capitalist issues are revealed, a number of
39 Ibid., 4.
40 Park, Theatre country : essays on landscape & whenua: 48.
35. 53
by-products can be observed. Though observed here in
the context of a coastal culture, issues relative or identical
to these are prevalent in society today’s spatial attitudes.
The first of these issues is the evolution of the ‘superbach’.
The beginnings of the bach as a fringe construct
manifested in its spatial qualities of being both small and
an amalgamation of cheap and reused parts.
These architectural elements, such as corrugated iron
and recycled timber, have influenced the vernacular for
current coastal, and inland, developments. However,
far from its beginnings as the cheap lean-to structure,
bach has become sysnonymous with the luxury holiday
home. Gone are the days where a bach would pale in
comparison to the family home in terms of quality and
refined comfort. The ‘superbach’ can be seen to stand
beside the ‘superhouse’; where once the bach existed
irrespective of economic hierarchy, it is now the domain
of the upper middle class and beyond as a symbol of
posterity. Plate 3..
Where once the bach could be seen as simply a shelter
for an attempt to integrate oneself with the Ecological
Landscape, they are seen less as a part of any particular
landscape and more as platform from which to view it.
The pressure to preserve view within any modern
occupation is not a novel concept, but its prevalence
36. Plate 4. A sketch investigations into the staggering of views both horizontally
and vertically.
37. 55
is most definitely a result of the previously discussed
relationship between landscape and nature. With the
mindset of ‘more is more’, mentioned in the evolution
of the ‘superbach’, the preservation of view as a feature
is fought for. Landscape in its traditional understanding
implies an element of framing the aesthetic and visible
qualities of an area of land. Through this evolution, view
has become a prestigious commodity traded lucratively
in coastal real estate. This currency of view appears with
no concern for framing any particular element of the
surrounding environment. The increased need for density
requires importance to be realigned with the framed view
as opposed to the expansive view. In a context seemingly
far removed from New Zealand’s coastal regions,
precedent can be taken from the work of Japanese
architects. Atelier Bow Wow, for example, make use of
framed views to enhance the spatial and occupational
qualities of the high-density living conditions typical of
the urban areas of Tokyo. Examples of the way in which
framing of views can affect the understanding of public
and private space, as well as enhance the perception of
‘nature’ and open space. By utilizing these the advantages,
the notion that high-density occupation affords no access
to picturesque views and removes the occupant from that
sense of ‘nature’ so esteemed in coastal culture can be
challenged.
38. 57
Before the standard methods of defining boundary and
their effects infiltrated coastal culture, relaxed attitudes
towards the mixing of public and private realms were
a byproduct of inhabiting an undefined space. Kebbell
identifies a underlying mentality of ‘drift’, so labeled
by the Situationist thinker Guy Debord, leading to the
understanding that “many of the habits and values at
the bach correspond with both situationist and Creative
Class views of urban life.”41
Indeed, this notion of ‘drift’
was prevalent, encompassing both mental and physical
wandering;
“people drifted in and out of their own identities, days drifted from
one to the next, interiors drifted outside, and sand drifted back in.
People drifted between baches to sample the ambience.”42
As much as it can be said that post-colonial notions have
altered the fundamental ideas of coastal culture, these
fundamentals have not been lost in their entirety. Fused,
it could be said that coastal culture no longer provides
the total escape it once did. However, the tendencies of
‘drift’ can be seen as spatial manifestations in many of
today’s coastal dwellings. Although our post-European
relationship to the land can be observed in current baches
andcoastaldevelopments,themorecommunaltendencies
that define these spaces can be seen as a remnant of a
more fluid ideology.
41 Kebbell, “Interiors in the Land of the Great Outdoors,” 5.
42 Ibid., 4.
39. 59
The favouring of these relaxed ideals over those of rigid
definition has the potential to enhance higher density
occupation by utilizing a variety of methods besides the
traditional constructs to define space and movement.
The discussion of the application of this principle can be
found in The Design.
Density
Proposals for increased density are often met with much
resistance, especially in sensitive and esteemed scenic
locations. Though not the answer for every situation,
in order to address New Zealand’s increasing population
and immutable bach culture, defined areas of higher
density development can provide the amenities needed.
As a result of increasing the number of inhabitants
within a circumscribed area, the potential to support
commercial functions increases, leading to a concept that
Planning editor Ruth Eckdish Knack calls ‘urban vitality’:
“the cultural and commercial assets that only highly
concentrated populations can produce and sustain.”43
The article discusses densities of a significantly greater
magnitude, such as those of New York’s downtown
neighbourhoods, but urban vitality has the potential to
exist at much lower residential densities.
Even basic businesses, such as the dairy or Four Square
require a certain local customer base in order to trade.
43 Ruth Eckdish Knack, “Dense, denser, denser
still: perceptions can mislead when it comes to units per
acre,” Planning 68, no. 8 (2002): 6.
40. 61
These businesses that increase amenity to a community
are a “function of density”44
and cannot be sustained
below a certain density of local population. In effect, by
achieving a level of density suited to a particular area,
commercial enterprises can be sustained where these
businesses in turn attract people to the community not
only as residents but also as tourists. Agriculture, forestry
and mining are the largest industries for Northland’s
economy, but tourism contributes approximately 13%
of the area’s GDP and is experiencing steady growth.
Therefore, concentrated areas of increased density
would enable the operation of small, commercial tourist
industries to support Northland’s continued growth. The
Design will address examples of neighbouring villages
and their analysis to determine an appropriate level of
density for the design proposal.
44 Ibid., 9.
41. 63
The Ecological and Anthropological Landscapes,
though inclusive of history, treat the passage of time as
a chronological logic rather than a characteristic to be
expressed. As a collection of memories and artifacts,
the Archaeological Landscape addresses the remnants
of the Anthropological in the context of the Ecological
Landscape. Involving the physical vestiges of history, the
Archaeological Landscape is concerned with both the
acknowledgement of these objects as well as the ways in
which they can be used to conjure memories and edify
notions of place-making.
Heritage As An Identity
Once found, artifacts become entwined in a dialogue
between the time that they reference and the time in
which they are discovered. The ways in which this
dialogue is encouraged is a matter of their contemporary
expression and perception. The most blatant form of
artifact presentation is that which takes precedence today
– the presentation in a museum setting where relics
are preserved, restored and objectified. This form of
historical observation relies on the display of a collection
of objects to narrate a story; a story that need not have
played out in the location where they come to finally
42. 65
be displayed. Though valid, the focus on the relic as a
narrator of history produces a different outcome from the
creation of environments where memories are induced
and emotions triggered in order to engage with history.
While not degrading the integrity of the museum and
the monument as historical interfaces, the spatial
constructs they imply are experienced by the viewer
in a manner more resembling tourism than through
personal interpretation. In order to fully explore and
understand a site’s Archaeological Landscape, artifacts
and archaeological remains found within the site’s
Ecological Landscape can be translated into architectural
cues that enable history to be experienced through their
spatial manifestation. These imaginative histories draw
on individual memory and remembered experience as a
crucial factor in place-making.
As explored earlier, many contemporary issues that affect
site and its understanding are the result of recurrent
attempts to protect the ideas of our past; the acceptance of
an aesthetic history is the result of protecting intangible
concepts whose effects can be validated through physical
associations. The fabricated memories of our ancestors’
harmonious existence, and the convergence of nature and
moral fortitude have resulted in tendencies that favour
nostalgia. This proclivity for heritage characteristics is
demonstrated through its widespread incorporation into
marketed features of our Ecological Landscapes.
43. 67
The use of these features to appeal to ‘old-world
sensibilities’ is present across a scale of ventures: from
the use of historical architectural elements throughout a
community, to the use of vintage styling of new products
to project a sense of superiority. The ‘quaint’ inn and
the ‘rustic’ tavern play on the homely associations of a
simpler life. Holiday destinations frequently call on the
use of historic characteristics and traditional techniques,
not to narrate a specific site history but to increase their
marketability to a public entranced by the paraphernalia
of history.
Vestiges of tradition are apparent in almost every aspect
of contemporary existence. Unquestioned, they are
repeated and reused as we unintentionally weave them
through our lives in an effort to validate our identities.
As if, should all the immediate context of our existence
be called into question, the backing of tradition would
reaffirm our existence; “However faithfully we preserve,
however authentically we restore, however deeply we
immerse ourselves in bygone times, life back then was
based on ways of living incommensurable with our
own.”45
Within literature, fables and fairytales remain
unchanged through successive generations, unhindered
by the continually expanding gap between the archaic
and the contemporary.
45 David Lowenthal, The past is a foreign country (Cambridge
[Cambridgeshire] ; New York: Cambridge University Press,
1985). xvi.
44. 69
Ever retold, the worries eased and the plights
expressed through their stories are (as Lowenthal45
said) incommensurable with the issues of today. The
imagery of castles, carriages and armoured princes on
horseback were once a commentary on relevant issues;
in a time when there often existed a royal elite whose
power translated into opulence, feudal battles were
comparatively commonplace and the power of steam was
as yet unfathomable. Yet it seems that these images are
repeatedly rendered, and with each retelling becoming
more whimsical in the eyes of present society. Though
fairytales may seem far removed from any discussion
regarding landscape, the reincarnation of history and the
methods through which it is carried out are integral to
our understanding of the Archaeological Landscape.
Sense Of Place: Idiosyncrasies And Compromise
The use of traditions - the conflation of history with
the rituals of daily life - is a “lifestyle,” says Herrington,
“formulating a sense of not only personal identity, but
home and community.”46
In postmodern life “we get used
to living with contradictions and there are several reasons
for this: traditions crumble, and with them cultural
identities.”47
In The Geography of Home, Akiko Busch
records a number of contradictions and the way in which
they are carried through from earlier periods in our
history through a process of integration and adaptation.
46 Herrington, On landscapes: 38.
47 Zumthor, Thinking architecture: 16.
45. 71
These resolutions of inconsistencies are what let us define
our sense of place. The argument is made then that
traditional analytical display of artifacts, as they occur
in museums, allows a chronological recount of history
but through its failing to form emotional connections to
a site, has no part in helping to define a sense of place or
home. This failing is not indicative of an inability to
emotionally respond to the artifacts, the conflict caused
by a collision between history and the present effects a
personal interpretation. Hence, the interpretation of
conflict through compromise is integral the definition of
place. Like a museum’s objectified relics, monuments -
the objectified markers of historical significance – show a
historical feature without the interpretation or evocation
necessary to impact on sense of place. The admiration of
these objects as evidence of our origins reaffirms existence
and provides the sense of being of a greater whole; as
nature has often been seen as origins, the admiration
of these objects as origins and hence “as nature imparts
to others that you are connected to something greater,
something that has not been purposefully framed for
presentation to humans.”48
However, it is not only the inconsistencies between
history and the contemporary that must be resolved.
The Archaeological Landscape is the interpretation of
a historical narrative in the context of an Ecological
Landscape, and takes into account the human experience
of this narrative.
48 Herrington, On landscapes: 50.
46. 73
Hence, the role of individual memories and associations
that affect the human experience is vital. In the act of
place-making, differences between individuals must
also be confronted. Arising from a unique collection
of past experiences, situations and circumstances, every
person has a different understanding of the factors that
influence comfort. The anecdote related by Busch about
a couple intending to build a house clearly illustrates how
profoundly different expectations of ‘home’ can be. One
wanted a place to withdraw - a cave-like atmosphere -
while the other imagined an airy open space.49
When
talking about principles of identity within a landscape,
collective identity is often addressed yet there is a lack of
appreciation for the vast differences between individual
tastes. The fundamentals of ‘place’ are so widely varied,
yet there is an expectation of a singular understanding.
Through its expression on the geomorphological
landscape, the Archaeological Landscape presents a
narrative of a site’s history as a framework for individual
interpretation and response; “Since our feeling and
understanding are rooted in the past, our sensuous
connections with a building must respect the process of
remembering.”50
49 Akiko Busch, Geography of home : writings about where we
live (New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 1999). 17.
50 Zumthor, Thinking architecture: 18.
47. 75
A Note On Recollections And Architectonics
The typology of development on a site is not the
determinant factor of whether the contemporary sits in
harmony with the past. The programme of any previous
occupation does not affect subsequent interventions.
The new proposal will likely exert demands that
appear in opposition to any sense of harmony of the
site. However, through this contradiction and the
interpretation of artifacts, architectonic relationships
are discovered. Although formal cues will likely be
derived from the vernacular within the Anthropological
Landscape, the investigation of found artifacts yields
responses to architectural issues such as materiality.
Through interrogation of these elements, the formal
proposition is able to “embrace qualities that can enter
into a meaningful dialogue with the existing situation.”51
This dialogue enables buildings to sit in what Zumthor
calls a Completed Landscape where the intervention fits
seamlessly into its surroundings.52
This concept does not
equate simply to the use of formal heritage characteristics
to appeal to a sense of nature and origins. The space,
experiences and atmospheres embodies in a place should
engage the human element over the course of its use. In
Zumthor’s work, significant emphasis is placed on the
specific use of materials to convey designed perceptions53
.
These perceptions stem from a personal dialogue between
51 Ibid., 17.
52 Ibid.
53 Ibid., 9-10.
48. 77
the rational and the emotional: his formal architectural
training, and his emotions and recollections of past
experiences and atmospheres. The personal recollections
of landscape architects have long been drawn upon to
shape and inspire the scenes that they created.54
However, they have been used in significantly different
methods. Historic landscape architects such as Frederick
Law Olmstead (Central Park) simply used their memories
in order to recreate a copy of the Ecological Landscapes
they remembered. Zumthor, though referencing memory,
relied on his repertoire of visceral reaction rather than
direct reproduction. In order to elicit interpretation, an
approach more aligned with latter must be undertaken so
as to prevent the reproduction an aesthetic history.
54 Herrington, On landscapes: 35.
49.
50. 81
“When an architectural design draws solely from the
tradition and only repeats the dictates of its site, I sense a
lackofagenuineconcernwiththeworldandtheemanations
of contemporary life. If a work of architecture speaks only
of contemporary trends and sophisticated visions without
triggering vibrations in its place, this work is not anchored
in its site, and I miss the specific gravity of the ground it
stands on.” 55
The theories discussed throughout Part One are offered as
an insight to the concepts and points of view underlying
this design proposal. Understanding that landscape is
used in this text to represent its three constituent parts,
this proposal seeks to share the site’s historical narrative
through a design that sits as a part of its Completed
Landscape. Through an analysis of site with regard to
the presented theories, occurrences unique to this site
have been interpreted into architectonic concepts that
illustrate the way in which development of sensitive sites
can be undertaken. Seeing that the desire to protect
sensitive sites stems from a fear of forgetting, Herrington
poses a vital question: “How can landscapes represent
the past without using it to validate the present? How can
historic artifacts be preserved, while allowing for present
needs?” 56
55 Zumthor, Thinking architecture: 42.
56 Herrington, On landscapes.
52. 83
Herrington’s suggested response aligns with that of the
proposed new paradigm that has been explored through
these chapters - it involves paying homage to both current
and historic issues through the interpretation of artifacts
(The Archaeological Landscape) as well as expressing
any previous use or occupation (The Anthropological
Landscape) around concerns for the current ecological
systems at play on the site (The Ecological Landscape).
The fundamental acknowledgement of the role of the
future is also identified.
Design Process
The Ecological Landscape
15km South-East of Whangarei on Northland’s east
coast, Smugglers Bay sits at the southern tip of Bream
Head at the entrance to Whangarei Harbour. It sits in a
temperate sub-tropical climate zone and receives around
1900 sunshine hours per year and an average rainfall of
1300mm. Though the prevailing winds are generally
south-westerly, tropical cyclones in summer can bring
heavy rainfall and nor-easterly winds57
. Both a seaward-
facing bay and a more sheltered coastal area facing
Urquharts Bay are accessible on the site. The majority
of Bream Head has been classed as an Outstanding
Landscape and Department of Conservation (D.O.C)
57 “Living in Northland,” http://www.northlanddhb.org.nz/
careers/living-in-Northland/climate/
53. Plate 6. Context map indicating areas classed as OUtstanding Landscape (orange) and D.O.C. Conservation Land (grey).
Outstanding Landscape
D.O.C. Conservation Land
Site Area
54. 85
Public Conservation Land, including the proposed site
of Smugglers Bay. The extent of classification of the
surrounding areas as Outstanding Landscape and D.O.C.
Conservation Land can be seen in Plate 6.
The majority of the headland area is steep, with a central
section at a milder gradient. The bush regions to the
steeper areas of the east and west of the site are covered
in native coastal broadleaf forest with at least 380 plant
types58
. The coastal areas around Smugglers Bay are
rich in sea-life, providing a wealth of bountiful fishing
and diving locations. Within the harbour are several
conservation initiatives for avifauna as well as marine
ecologies. An example of birdlife protection areas can
be seen in Plate 7. where breeding areas for the Little
Blue Penguin (Eudyptula minor) follow the majority of
the coastal perimeter of the site.
Within a 20km radius of the site, there are several
landmarks and features including Mt. Manaia to the
North and the Hen & Chicken Islands offshore to the
West. Great Barrier Island lies further to the South.
58 Andrew Stone, “Bream Head: Walking On The Wild Side.”
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/travel/news/article.cfm?c_
id=7&objectid=10703396
55. Plate 7. Little Blue Penguin breeding area around site. Tidal flats through harbour also shown.
56. 87
The Anthropological Landscape
To the North of Smugglers Bay in the area currently
known as Urquharts Bay is an example of a previous
Maori pa settlement. Artifacts indicate that this
habitation occurred in either a single instance or a series
of settlements some time between 1520 and 165059
.
Archaeological remains found in the vicinity provide
evidence that the occupation at Smugglers Bay was more
temporary in nature, likely used as a fishing encampment
rather than a permanent settlement60
. Investigations
of both the pa area and other sites in Urquharts Bay
enable an understanding of the spatial arrangements and
relationships that once ordered the site; the presence of
defensive ditches provide insight to the ideas of the open
and the protected while other areas indicate the extent
to which the earth was modified through terracing and
agriculture.
British settlers had been settling New Zealand since
approximately the 1840s. A large block of land under
the name of Taurikura was originally purchased from
59 Caroline Phillips, “Further Artefact Analysis: Addendum to
Archaeological Investigation, Midden Q07/571, 2567
Whangarei Heads Road, Urquharts Bay (Historic Places
Authority 2007/25),” (Department of Conservation, 2010), 8.
60 Matthew Campbell, “McCarthy property, Lot 2 DP
208170, Urquhart Bay: archaeological assessment,”
(Department of Conservation, 2005), 3.
57. 89
Maori landowners in 1839, after which it went through
a series of subdivisions and reconfigurations presumable
experiencing some form of low-scale occupation. The
first houses in Urquharts Bay were erected from 1915
onwards61
.
Due to its vantage point and clear sight of the harbor,
gun emplacements were erected at Smugglers Bay during
WWII but were unused in any combat situation. These
structures are still in place and constitute a part of the
walking trail attractions of Bream Head.
The Northland area is today largely sustained by an
agricultural economy with over half of the land use in the
region designated for pastoral agriculture and farming.
Though seasonal, the tourism industry contributes
significantly to the economy and is concentrated on
the coastal and harbour areas as opposed to inland
attractions62
In order to best see how successful a denser level
of development could exist on the site, a footprint
area roughly equivalent to the current neighbouring
61 Phillips, “Further Artefact Analysis: Addendum to
Archaeological Investigation, Midden Q07/571, 2567
Whangarei Heads Road, Urquharts Bay,” 8.
62 Northland Regional Council, “Part I: Northland” New
Regional Policy Statement, 17.
58. Urquharts Bay
Parua Bay
Plate 8. Urquharts Bay Residential Density Analysis. 1:2000
Plate 9. Parua Bay Residential & Commercial Density Analysis. 1:2000
N
N
59. McLeod Bay
LIVING 1
KEY
LIVING 3
BUSINESS 3
OPEN SPACE
Reotahi Bay
Plate 10. McLeod/Reotahi Bay Residential & Commercial Density Analysis. 1:2000
N
LIVING 1
LIVING 3
OPEN SPACE
BUSINESS 3
60. 93
settlement of Urquharts Bay will be occupied. Within this
area will be at least 120 houses and a commercial element
as a part of the programme of the pier. These density of
occupation was determined by analysing the composition
of the neighbouring communities. This investigation
assessed the approximate density of occupation necessary
to support public amenities such as a community store.
The are two levels of residential density zonings within
these areas, and it can be seen that the higher density of
occupation is generally found to be in closer proximity to
the coast; this suggests that there is greater demand for
‘beach-side’ properties. The composition of the villages
are as follows:
Urquharts Bay
Approximately 80 dwellings.
(Plate 8.)
Parua Bay
Approximately 220 dwellings, 4 businesses.
(Plate 9.)
McLeod Bay/Reotahi Bay
Approximately 150 dwellings, 1 business.
(Plate 10.)
61. 95
The Archaeological Landscape
Through the recording of all artifacts and finds of
archaeological importance, the country’s Anthropological
Landscapeisexpressed. Suchadiagramiscompiledbythe
New Zealand Archaeological Association’s Archaeological
Site Recording Scheme. This initiative aims document
the archaeological discoveries throughout the country –
the information mapped by the organization indicated
the site’s richness of Anthropological Landscape through
its density in archaeological discoveries. [A version of
this mapped information can be found in the appendix.]
Much of the archaeological evidence on the site
catalogues instances of occupation and provides insight
to elements of daily life during the Maori phase of the
site. Besides shell middens, a variety of stone artifacts
were also found on the site. The interpretation of these
archaeological fragments influenced a great deal of design
considerations throughout the proposal. These stone
artifacts were remnants of obsidian tools, with a small
number of other stone types. These objects not only
validated the existence of our forebears, they explored the
connections they maintained with communities across
the country; the sources of the obsidian artifacts reflected
trade connections that the local tribes had with those in
neighbouring areas as well as those significant distances
away.
63. Plates 12. -17. Test pitting samples modelled in plaster, cardboard and foamboard.
64. Plates 18. - 20. Initial concept explorations of the layers discovered through test-pitting.
65. 99
In addition to these artifacts, the archaeological processes
undertaken on the site at present, should new structures
ormodificationstotheEcologicalLandscapebeproposed,
are reflected in conceptual approaches in the design
process. Test pitting is required as an investigational tool
in these areas proposed for modification. At the entrance
to the site, a proposal for a small structure resulted in the
excavation of several test pits. The visual representation
of the information they embody is presented as Plates
11-20.Through a conceptual modeling of these layers,
and the understanding that the cultural artifacts were
found in the central stratum, the idea of ‘exposing the
cultural layer’ evolved, Plate 21. The inherent qualities
of a material, as discussed by Zumthor, are captured
through these conceptual processes and carried through
into decisions of materiality in the proposed design.
Although the areas of investigation that informed the
design are ordered into the Ecological, Anthropological
and Archaeological Landscapes, the process of design
is more fluid in nature than this tripartite organization
suggests. As such, a more chronological and train-of-
thought design process is described in the following
paragraphs.
The initial stages of the design process involved assigning
function to the site – an element that would feasibly
66. Plate 21. Concept sketches of initial investigations of idea of ‘exposing the conceptual layer’.
67. 101
draw people to the new occupation. Potential functions
drew on the types of activity indicated by archaeological
evidence of the Anthropological Landscape, coupled
with the presence of factors such as bountiful fishing
areas and the contributions of marine farming63
to
Northland’s economy as well as traditional agricultural
methods. Possibilities for commercial elements
included the operation of a self-sustaining market where
traditional produce and kaimoana64
would be cultivated
and harvested from the site and sold through a retail
component. However, the pressures to maintain a supply
level to meet the realistic demands of a retail operation
would be impractical on the chosen site. As the proposal
stands, the programme drawing people to the site focuses
on the prominent location of the site at the mouth of the
Whangarei Harbour. The introduction of a pier servicing
both marine leisure activites and a potential ferry
service would increase both the accessibility of the site
as well as its appeal to locals and tourists. Initial ideas
for the placement of the pier are illustrated in Plate 22.
These orientations and locations are influenced by both
the geomorphological landscape of the site as well the
existing walking paths as mapped by the Department of
Conservation. The final arrangement took into account
the ocean depths and contours as shown on hydrographic
charts. [See appendix for chart images.]
63 Northland Regional Council, “Part I: Northland” New
Regional Policy Statement, 17.
64 Kaimoana is the Maori term for seafood.
68. Plate 22. Sketch map of potential pier placements, views between vantage points and
the existing walking trail.
Plate 23. Sketch map of site features
that influence a new occupation.
69. Plate 24. Sketch map of site features indicating gradients that would most likely have
been too steep for pre-European occupation (green).
70. Plate 25. Conceptual arrangement explorations to maintain interior/exterior connections - the pinwheel plans.
71. 105
To begin the investigation into higher densities and
planning, an idea of ‘the multi-directional villa’ from
the previous semester’s design work was revisited. This
involved the formation of a pinwheel-shaped plan that
enabled a higher density of occupation. This increase
in density maintained its comforts and appeal through
a variety of architectural ideas. One such method was
through the maintenance of connections between interior
and exterior through small but deliberate framed views.
In a higher density occupation, this approach enabled
a perception of space and connection to environment
often associated with lower levels of density. Building on
this idea, I began introducing the triangular forms that
had arisen through conceptual drawings. The resulting
diagram (Plate 25.) was produced as a generator for ideas
relating to form orientation, and a starting point for the
densification of the site.
Although pre-European settlement occurred on hilly
terrain, midden deposits were discovered on land that
was relatively steep which made pre-European settlement
unlikely65
. The development of an area that would have
historically been impossible to built on would render the
proposed development as ‘new’, and this idea informed
initial decisions surrounding the specific location of the
65 Campbell, “McCarthy property, Lot 2 DP 208170, Urquhart
Bay: archaeological assessment,” 2.
73. 107
proposed development within the site. In many areas,
the previous occupation of land by Maori is clear through
the presence of terraces. References to this mode of
remodeling the terrain would indicate the site’s previous
habitation. A conceptual investigation exploring
terracing is shown as Plate 26.
The sculptural qualities of the materiality informed by
the artifacts and the resulting conceptual explorations
became a central notion in informing the overall impact
of the design as well as its more intimate details. This
urge to present a sculpted response prompted an aesthetic
often inspired by Richard Serra. A selection of conceptual
models exploring both the cutting and excising of terrain
and this sculptural materiality are shown through figs.
14-20. The clearest manifestation of these explorations is
through the wall structures that project vertically from
the ground. They can be seen as the drawing up, the
exposing of the ‘cultural layers’ and the palimpsest that
the development is inherently a part of. These walls
are aligned to the landmark of Mount Manaia to the
North. This acknowledges the importance of landforms
and features in the identity of a place in Maori culture –
the views to surrounding geographic locations has been
diagrammatically represented in the final presentation
panels (Plate. X). The perspectival arrangement of the
statuesque wall elements also enables a response to the
contemporary importance placed on ‘view’. The level of
76. Plates 19. - 20. Paper and carboard models exploring the exposing of the cultural layer.
77. Plate 34. Exploring the effects of framing view. Plate 35. Initial sketches of lifted and exposed planes & cuts.
78. Plate 36. Conceptual plan of the site indicating paths established through atmospheric changes
79. 113
density in the development discourages the use of vast,
open expanses of glazing over the considered view (Plate
34.). By framing chosen elements of the environment as
a whole, the perception of space and privacy is altered
while enabling scenic views of significant landmarks.
The maintenance of public access, a significant concern
to many who oppose development of sensitive areas,
is also considered through the design. Boundary
conditions throughout the site are less defined through
traditional methods such as the fence. Differentiation
between public and private spaces between dwellings
utilize methods integrated into spatial arrangements
and architectonic decisions. The heights and placement
of fenestrations affect visual connections between
inhabitants, and materiality cues are employed to
portray changes in ownership. The ideas informing the
movement through the development are informed by a
sense of the Situationist’s ‘drift’ as previously emphasised
by Kebbell. A conceptual plan-scape ise presented in
Plate 36. By incorporating the elements of bach culture
that are sought by inhabitants throughout the design, a
comprehensive expression of these atmospheres becomes
accessible. In this sense, movement throughout the
development is practically unrestricted, and access to the
coast from all areas of the site is unencumbered. A non-
traditional treatment of road-level spaces is presented
in in the images of final design work (Plate 72.) as a
80. Plate 37. An example of how the formal language of Pacific architecture was briefly referenced in early schemes.
81. Plate 38. Sheet of drawings showing early arrangements of space based on communal Maori buildings, such as the wharenui.
82. Plate 39. Distribution of public and private spaces along linear rows of houses, exploration of the wharekai
arrangement in high density arrangements.
83. Plate 40. Programmatic cues from Pacific
architecture are used to inform public/private spaces
throughout.
84. Plate 41. Fenestration placement to provide ‘hints’ of occupation
Plate 42. Framing of views and the role of vertical elements in guiding view.
85. 119
culmination of these ideas.
The plans of the bach dwellings were informed by the
communal properties of traditional Maori buildings such
as the wharenui and the wharekai; the formal qualities of
Pacific architecture here are largely ignored (after some
reference to the roof-forms, Plate 37.) and their qualities
ofspatialorganizationareincorporatedinstead. Theplans
derived from these ideas worked largely around the use
of open plan spaces, with changes in level re-representing
the idea of the emergence of layers. The exploration of
patterns of arrangement arising from the organizational
qualities of these traditional buildings is attempted in
Plate 39. & Plate 40.; the latter is a progression of the
former and illustrates the general pattern of arrangement
used to occupy the wall constructs.
The following reflections on drawings were written
earlier in the design process, and convey the intent of
the explorations presented through the associated figures:
Within a dense development, both separation and
connection between occupants is vital. Though private
spaces are still desired, traditional ideas of separating
walls can create spaces that do not address the level
of human connection necessary. In order to maintain
privacy, neighbours should not be able to always see
directly into another occupied space, however it is
possible to provide glimpses or signs of occupation
through openings at floor-level or staggered openings.
86. Plate 43. Visual connections between public spaces of the dwellings.
Plate 44. Layering of spaces.
87. 121
The situation explored in Plate 41. describes how a
passerby may be able to experience the presence of others
within the community through an opening that allows
direct eye contact between inhabitants as opposed to one
that may allow elements, such as movement at floor level,
to express inhabitation.
Plate 42. starts to investigate the framing of views and
how glimpses of other occupation in the distance
may affect the openness of view and freedom of sight.
Additionally, the effects of certain openings that expose
the connections and pathways between two buildings is
explored, drawing forth the ideas seen in Plate 41.
(Plate 43.) By placing public areas of occupation, such
as patio and deck areas together so that they are linked
through visual connections as opposed to relying solely
on physical proximity, cohesiveness throughout the dense
development is possible. These visual linkages in turn
enable secondary connections to external circulation
pathways between buildings and through the community.
They not only create a more open circulation route,
they form another layer of programmatic definition
(programme is not only indicated through materiality and
form, but through the exposure of occupation methods)
(Plate 44.) The loosening of density experientially relies
on the inclusion of spaces that don’t fall in the traditional
88. Plate 45. Formation of alley spaces.
Plate 46. The effect of vertical elements on view.
89. 123
categories of interior and exterior. The layering of
occupation through spaces that control view from and
into enclosures and utilize a spectrum of spaces from
exterior to interior enriches the qualities of space that
may be limited by density requirements.
Often as a byproduct of density, access to and between
houses manifests as an alley space; the circulation space
is dwarfed by the exterior walls of buildings. This more
typical alley space is explored in this image (Plate 45.)
with openings places above eye-level to prevent direct
visual connection between interior and exterior. The
effects of narrowing the pathway and varying its level are
also explored.
As a progression from the typical alley circulation, Plate
46. attempts to explore the spatial effects of strong vertical
elements in directing the view of the user to a certain
point as well as the effects of varying the level of the path
in relation to floor levels of the neighbouring buildings.
(Plate 47.) View connections between houses and public
areas of the dwellings. Framing view and the inclusion of
built form and Ecological Landscape in the view.
The expression of vertical elements as opposed to
horizontal elements acts to guide the inhabitants’
views towards specific elements as opposed to framing
90. Plate 47. View connections from within house. Inclusion of built form in the view.
Plate 48. The merging of indoors and outdoors, terrain is sloped into the house.
93. 127
the traditional panoramic view often seen in coastal
developments. These vertical elements also relate back to
the ideas of slicing into the ground and excavation that
were the initial motivators for the project. Plate 48. begins
to show the integration of terrain with the constructed
form and its modified levels. By linking spaces and level
changes through terrain gradients softens the effects of
potentially dramatic changes in level as well as providing
access between these levels. This relates to the ideas
relating to terracing
(Plate 49, A.) The setting of the roofline below eye-
level from a public space or circulation pathway allows
for habitation in addition to protection of certain views
that enhance the experience of the site. By setting the
inhabitation below the level of these public spaces it
becomes possible to present these views to the occupants
of the internal spaces allowing a visual connection to
the outdoors and expanding the enclosure. If the view
contains planted elements, for example, it appears as an
extension of open space continuing into the house.
In the instance that circulation paths and spaces between
residences are formed between tall vertical elements,
several methods could be employed in order to maximize
connections between both the peripheral spaces as well as
betweentheindividualinteriorspaces. Theuseofstandard
dimensions to denote public passageways, for example
94. 129
1200mm, throughout both the external environment
and within the dwellings presents a common language
to the user throughout the development that inherently
identifies the spaces perceived to be public and accessible.
In the same manner, if planting strips of equal dimensions
are placed both to the exterior and the interior aspects
of the wall elements as seen on the left-side of Plate 49,
B. a blurring of space and spatial ownership is achieved.
This blurring of boundaries is essential to connect spaces
within a dense development scheme and reflects ideas of
New Zealand’s bach culture. Though it may be plausible
to open certain areas up to public view in specific areas
of the building, such as depicted in the right-hand side
of Plate 49, B., the continuation of smaller dimensional
elements such as the planting strips that remain legible
through openings at floor-level are of significance when
privacy needs to be maintained.
Methods of reconfiguring vertical partition elements
will consequently affect the way in which spaces are
perceived, for instance when they are closed off and
blocking spaces as opposed to when they are opened
up to allow connection. Once such duality is seen in
Plate 49, C.and explores the possibility for creating a new
space the reflects occupancy and accessibility. When the
partition system is used to shade occupancy and provide
privacy, a corridor-like space is apparent between the
buildings. However, if occupants of both houses were
96. 131
to open their spaces, the partitions would act to create a
sheltered walkway between the houses creating a semi-
enclosed space that has different ownership properties
than either of the individual spaces.
Elements of the design of the dwellings even at a smaller
scale are pertinent in creating a space that is legible
within the spectrum of privacy. The alignment of glazing
in relation to the thickness of the wall provides ways in
which to read the privacy of space as seen in Plate 49,
D. The scenario on the far left describes the effect of
placing the glazing through the center line of the wall’s
thickness. The central diagram illustrates the recessed
and ‘accessible’ effect of placing the glazing at the internal
edge of the wall as opposed to the outer edge as seen in
the scenario to the far right.
As a continuation from the triangular motifs seen in
earlierdiagrams,Plate50,A.presentsaformalexploration
of an inhabitable element in the site, attempting to
address the possibility of orienting views in directions
perpendicular to the apparent axis of the building. This
concept is continued in Plate 50, B. where the axis of the
buildings, enclosed in their own volumes, are oriented
both along and perpendicular to the contours of the
slope and attempt to redirect views from their interiors
perpendicular to these axes. This scenario is redressed
in Plate 51. from the Northern view and attempts to see
97. 133
how the built elements might act as mediators between
different levels on terrain, cutting through the hillside as
well as extending out into excavated and modified terrain
elements.
These repetition of ideas from previous methods of
living in a new mode of occupation make it is possible
to inhabit a site while reflecting its history through the
interpretationsofthelandscapeinwhichitsits. Thedesign
reached as a convergence of the multitude of influences
and factors informed by the landscape is presented in the
following images.
Inparalleltotheinvestigationofmoreintimateandformal
elements of the proposition, an overall site plan was also
being designed. Through a series of site sketches and
sketch maps that have been seen previously, a solution for
the arrangement of higher density dwellings was sought.
The following images are a selection that were involved
in the reiteration of ideas and development into the end
scheme of the inhabitation of the distinct wall elements.
Initial concerns with density involved discerning the
potentials and effects of ordering systems on the number
of potential dwellings. By utilizing the method of
ordering blocks on a site map, the effects of a rational
98. Plates . - . Investigating the impact of rigidity and ‘chaos’ on the potential achievable density
99. 135
versus a chaotic system was observed both in plan, and to
a degree, its effects on vertical aspects could be imagined
(Plates 52. & 53.).
Continuing from these investigations, the sectional
relationships on the extreme slopes of the site were
investigated to reassess and reinterpret the products of
the investigation. The resulting sectional investigation
can be seen in Plate 54.
The results of the block layouts were traced back onto
more analytical, layered site images such as shown in
Plate 55.
Plate 56. could be seen as representing a stage in
the planning process where the wall elements were
manifesting as an idea - the straight visual elements
are legible in many images throughout the stages of the
design process. This image was a result of re-drawing and
tracing Plate 36.
100. Plate 54. The tracing of the chaotic ordering of potential dwellings on site.
Plate 55. The vertical relationships between masses on the hillside, an effort to gauge steepness.
101. Plate 56. A reinterpretation of atmospheric movement through the site.
102. 139
Final Design & Presentation
The final design outcome embodying the research
presented through this thesis is illustrated through the
images to follow. Beginning with reduced copies of the
final exhibition prints, the elements are subsequently
discussed further. Images of the models that complete
the body of presentation work are at the end of this
section. Of the exhibition prints, the first roll describes
the elements of the Ecological, Anthropological and
Archaeological Landscapes that informed the final design
response. The second roll presents the formal qualities
of the proposition. The perspectival images follow and
describe the atmospheric qualities and overall impact of
the high density proposal.
103. Plate 57. Top half of first roll print. Not to scale.
107. Plate 61. Axes of view from the site to major local landmarks and neighbouring communities.
Plate 62. Importance placed on the extensive view vs. the framed view.
Plate 63. Midden and obsidian artifacts excavated in the area.
Plate 64. The layers indicated by the test pitting process.
Plate 65. Site plan indicating the walking trails that currently exist in addition to the WWII gunemplacement locations. Not to scale.
108. 145
Plates 61-62. describe elements of the Anthropological
Landscape. Although the view connections shown in
Plate 61. also help to locate the site in a greater context
of the Ecological Landscape,they were used to orient
the built elements on the site. The significance placed
by Maori on local landmarks as a form identity was
of interest - rather than simply convey the site’s Maori
history by orienting the development towards the Pa site,
Mount Manaia was selected as this would have been a key
reference to the community.
Plates 63. - 65. are representative of the Archaeological
Landscape. Plate 63. documents the types of artifacts
and archaeological evidence found on the site, while the
location of the WWII gun emplacements on the walking
trail are shown on Plate 65.
The site plan, as seen in Plate 59., is not reproduced
here in regards to the feedback from the critique session
(discussed in the following pages.) The proposal currently
accomodates more than 150 dwellings across the site and
demarcates the commercial zone where the pier would be
placed. The current road that terminates at Urquharts Bay
would be extended into the site, generally following the
track currently walked by trampers. The location chosen
109. Plate 66. Cross section illustrating wall elements and inhabitation between walls.
110. 147
for development is sheltered by the geomorphology of
the site from the prevailing sou-westerly winds. The
water depths in this area were also the most ideal for the
placement of a ferry terminal/pier. Towards the summit is
another commercial feature/public amenity. The lookout
is placed there so as to enable the access to the views from
the summit as well as maintaining tourist access.
The cross section (Plate 66.) illustrates the significant
component for the design, the tapered walls that contain
the services necessary in any domestic occupation. The
services are accessed by hatches built into the walls at
various points. The idea is that the walls will be placed
on site first and can exist simply as walls. Individual
baches are then built between these walls. The walls,
representing the exposure of the landscape and its
continuation upwards, could be seen to be a result of
the initial conceptual models made from the test pitting
information.
The long section illustrates how the slope of the hill is
utilized in order to maintain visual connection through
an intense development.
111. Plate 67. Long section of upper house, not to scale.
Plate 68. Long section of lower house, not to scale.
112. Plate 69. Model indicating the development’s aesthetic and formal impact on the hillside.
Plate 70. Sectional slice model showing one set of walls that orient to Mr. Manaia.
113. Plate 71. The view from a roof terrace uphill towards other dwellings. Glimpses of inhabitation are apparent.
Plate 72. The proposed streetscape. The vertical elements constantly orient the viewer within the site.
114. 151
Critique Reflection
The comments and discussion that arose from the
critique provided valuable insight to potential ideas that
could be expounded through continued research through
design. The two main concerns presented offer valuable
methods of enhancing the strength of the proposal. The
first issue was the interest in what would be done with
the physical artifacts once interpreted as a part of the
landscape. Although the idea of presenting these as
objects as history has been argued against through this
research, methods of their incorporation must still be
addressed. Their display as objects may be resisted, but
it must also be remembered that they should not simply
be destroyed or forgotten – their resorption into the
landscape is necessary. It could be imagined that these
objects be incorporated into architectural elements,
especially the walls, as a part of the materiality much like
an aggregate within concrete.
Secondly, the lack of reflection of palimpsest through the
plan of the development was observed. The regularity of
the overall plan conflicts with the idea of an expressed
palimpsest. Variation in the intensity of elements appears
to be key in progressing this aspect of the design, which
has significant potential for improvement. The depth that
the suggested changes would add to the experience of the
site is great; it can be imagined that the dynamism added
to the plan would induce changes of ‘pace’ throughout
the development. This would be beneficial in exploiting
the idea of ‘drift’, the constriction and relaxation of paths
through the intesification and attenuation of density.
Changes such as these would begin describe the plan
more harmoniously with the concept. It is with regret
that these changes could not be explored and presented
here.
115. 153
“We throw a stone into the water. Sand swirls up and
settles again. The stir was necessary.
The stone has found its place. But the pond is no longer
the same.”66
As an investigation of the layers comprising landscape, the
three key elements elaborate on the human relationship
with the environment. The ways in which a human
inhabitation leaves its imprints is legible through the
landscape. Though largely unconscious, the modification
apparentthroughlandscapedemonstratestherelationships
underwriting societies and hence, is important in
understanding identity. Through the interpretation and
subsequent expression of a site’s landscape, a relevant and
contextual response is possible and enables contemporary
occupations to sit as a harmonious element within a rich
palimpsest.
By reflecting on the human relationship with nature,
its connections with our origins and morality become
apparent. The clarification of these relationships enables a
relevant response to the perceptions of supposed ‘natural
landscapes’ and interrogates the viewpoints of outright
protection and preservation that oppose continued
evolution.
66 Zumthor, Thinking architecture: 18.
116. 155
The proposed ideas for a continued progression of
occupation do not disregard antecedent ideologies to
current issues, but reflect on them in order to arrive at
a new definition for our relationship with nature in the
current context. This involves taking into consideration
the fears that initiate the compulsive preservation of
the Ecological Landscape. Indicative of the current
thinking, these issues such as ecological conservation
must be considered in the proposed strategy for future
developments. In this proposition, the importance of
conservation issues is addressed by limiting the total
footprint area and condensing occupation so as to
maintain significant proportions of unbuilt environment.
This reduces sprawl to preserve surrounding ecological
systems and lessens the disruption of the Archaeological
Landscape.
Through social constructs and cultural ideologies, the
human relationship with the Ecological Landscape shapes
the ways in which the issues related to inhabitation are
addressed. The current proliferation of sprawl is seen
largelyasavestigeofcolonialviewsoflandasacommodity.
Despite the irrelevancy of these concepts to the current
issues of society, they are incessantly reiterated. Through
investigation of alternative cultural relationships, a
contemporary set of values that affect boundary-making
and spatial arrangement are materialized. To address the
architectonic issues of density, the values derived from
117. 157
a consolidation of Maori, Colonial and bach culture
responses to space, an effective density of occupation
relevant to the site is determined and developed. The
weaving of these characteristics together to inform design
decisions results in spatial constructs that respect the
previous occupations on the site and assist in invoking
the genius of the site.
Weary of creating a touristic development through the
monumental display of objects, an interplay between the
rational and the emotional – material and atmosphere –
is necessary to complete a sensitive response to landscape.
Investigation of archaeological elements found on the
site were used to inform the framework of atmospheres
and elements used to narrate its history. Although a
significant number of artifacts have been found on or
in the vicinity of the site, the display of these remnants
as objects becomes less relevant than the ways in which
they are used to inform a sense of place. As a result,
the juxtaposition between an overbearing historical
narrative and the rituals of contemporary existence that
take place within the proposed development are resolved.
The idiosyncrasy between a collective history and an
individual life exist simultaneously.
