The Landscapes of Aotearoa - a student's perspective
Yue Zhang is in her second year of Bachelor of Architecture Studies. As part of her education she’s doing ‘The Landscapes of Aotearoa’ course at Unitec, which looks into how the past is influencing the present, and how we can provide for the future landscapes of Aotearoa, exploring the evolution of tāngata (people) and whenua (landscapes) in Aotearoa New Zealand, in terms of Te Ao Māori and Te Ao Pākehā / Te Ao Hurihuri (the western worldview and changing worldview).
This is the first in a series of articles meeting some of our current landscape architecture students.
Kia Ora Tatou
Ko QingChui Te Maunga
Ko Hot River Te Awa
Nō China Ahau
Ko Zhang Tōku Whanau
Ko Yue Tōku Ingoa
He Pai Ki Ahau Ki Te Tuhi
Kei Te Pīrangi Au Ki Te Noho Kaihoahoa
Nō reira, Tēnā Koutou, Tēnā Koutou Kātoa
When you talk about New Zealand with a person like myself who was born overseas, the first impression they will have will be the rolling green hills, blue rivers, majestic mountains, diversity of landscape from one island to another, Maori culture, and history. Those are the things that are always symbolic for New Zealand, and marketing of New Zealand overseas reflects this as the "Brand of New Zealand".
As a person who immigrated to this country, it was very important for me to endeavour to learn and understand New Zealand culture and history while studying and living abroad. Unfortunately, most of the residents of New Zealand I have met have generally tended to conform mainly to the European lifestyle and Western culture. They do this at the expense of neglecting the indigenous Maori culture, which in my view, is also an important part of New Zealand.
Yue Zhang is a current landscape architecture student at Unitec in Auckland.
I remember the first time I attended the orientation for my first-year study at Ara Institute of Canterbury. The first orientation assembly started with a speaker addressing the group in Te Reo, and they did not start to speak in English for a long while. That was the first time I was exposed to anything resembling Maori culture. Listening to this address in Te Reo gave me a sense of how different the indigenous New Zealand culture is compared with European culture and the various other cultures that are now intertwined in New Zealand. At the time, I felt ashamed that I did not understand more of the Maori culture, then I realised how much a part of the fabric of New Zealand this culture is.
Western worldview not only invades New Zealand modern history and culture, it also significantly influences a new immigrant's perception of New Zealand. After graduating with a Diploma of Architectural Technology, and working in the architecture practice for a few years, I have realised how important it is for us to view the world and the significant historical and regional cultural influences in order to provide a better architecture design that fits better with the natural landscape and provides a sense of belonging to the surrounding environment.
Fiordlands - majestic mountains and bule rivers are always the first impression for a person like me who come from overseas.
In my first year of Bachelor of Architecture studies, I am lucky to have this great opportunity to choose to study Landscape of Aotearoa as my elective class. It is a chance for me to learn and understand much more about Maori culture and New Zealand history.
It also helps me to further explore the contrasts between indigenous world views and western world views. The knowledge that I have gained makes me question myself and my own views moving forward on how to achieve cultural harmony and respect the relationship between different world views into our future. Should the architect and landscape architect work together before the project starts? Should the architect design more with a mind to buildings linking to nature and focus more on reducing the impact of new buildings on the environment?
Western worldview considers the human occupants as most important in the design of buildings. They hold the view that 'the world belongs to man'; the land and its resources should be available for development and extraction of resources for the benefit of the occupants of the land. They feel successful by achieving their life goals. Under this model of existence, people use those natural resources as their money maker to benefit humanity and ignore the natural environment's impact. (N/A, Indigenous Peoples Worldviews vs Western Worldviews, 2016))Even some of the architectural design created using this model only associates with aesthetic and functional design and creativity for human pleasure. This worldview has a lack of balance between natural resources and humanity.
While I have been studying the course material on the Landscape of Aotearoa, I have understood so much more about Maori culture and the world view of Maori Culture. Maori culture holds the opposite stance of the western worldview. It has very strong spiritual bonds to the land - the earth mother of Papatuanuku. Maori see themselves as guardians of the land instead of the owners of the land.
They believe that the land is Tapu and given by the creator, which provides the source of unity. They have the view of 'the man belonging to the world'. They believe people, objects and the environment are all connected. They consider everything living and non-living to be interconnected. Whakapapa describes these connections and tells the story of how people, the landscape, plants, and animals came into being.
Over recent years, the Maori worldview has been becoming more and more of a focal point in both landscape design and architecture design. Since 2005, the government has encouraged architecture and landscape architecture to engage with mana whenua in New Zealand design. I believe this is a good sign for future development in New Zealand.
Fiordlands - creating natural connection between the buildings and surrounding landscape is important.
As a result, we will see more sustainable and environmentally friendly building and landscape design across Aotearoa. This engagement is not only benefiting the projects but also allows people to understand the Maori view more intimately by showcasing this beautiful culture and heritage.
As future architects and landscape architects, we should ensure we place emphasis on New Zealand history and culture as vital design elements to reflect into our future designs. We need to spend some time on historical research and engage with mana whenua as early as we can to create a better design for our communities.
Understanding the core differences between indigenous worldviews and western worldviews is very important in achieving cultural harmony and respectful relationships in design. Therefore, designing landscape and architecture associated with the Maori ancestral theory and culture is very important.
This study has demonstrated for me how European colonisation has, for a time, monopolised architectural influence in New Zealand. I am encouraged to see this trend turning around with a focus on indigenous cultural influences.