• A Renaissance of Māoritanga: whare whakairo as novel 'traditional' identity

The wharenui and whare whakairo are viewed by external observers as longstanding ‘traditional’ typologies of Māori architecture. An analysis of the structure’s whakapapa (ancestry) and a case study of perhaps the most well-known example in Aotearoa New Zealand explores further that notion.

Through a review of texts by leading scholars on the topic – Deirdre Brown, Jeffrey Sissons, Bill McKay, the paper explores the natural evolution of the building – its roots and ancestors and the reasons Western society so readily accepts it as ‘traditional’

It then explores famed Māori scholar and MP Sir Āpirana Ngata’s impacts on the revitalisation of the typology throughout the 1950s, and the impacts his work have had on modern day perceptions of Māori building methods and typologies, including closer looks at specific historical precedent.

Culminating in a case study of perhaps the most famous whare whakairo in the nation, Te Whare Rūnanga at Waitangi Treaty Grounds, the paper looks to the future, pondering new expressions of architectural identity by and for Aotearoa New Zealand’s Indigenous peoples.