Whakawhanaungatanga at West Harbour School
West Harbour School Principal Vicki Hitchcock is hugely proud of her decile two school in West Auckland but the main entrance to the school had been bugging her for years.
“Our students and the wider community are important to us and we are a very proud school with strong connections. We want our children to know they deserve the very best, and that includes their physical environment.”
Thanks to some Special Infrastructure Project funding from the Ministry of Education, Vicki and her team turned their attention to the main entrance. “Our school has four entrances, but the main arrival area really looked like a back entry. Many people have commented that West Harbour School has a very special feeling about it, but the main entrance wasn’t reflecting that.”
A meandering new pathway weaves the kauri trees together and is symbolic of the local Manutewhau stream. Image credit - Scott Sinton.
“We wanted to turn this into a vibrant, welcoming space for all who come to our wonderful school. Initially we spent hours coming up with different DIY ideas to remedy our concerns and to provide a true front of house showcasing our special place.”
And that’s where Richard Neville from Neville Design Studio came in. Vicki Hitchcock says the pair formed an immediate bond. “He got the essence of us, he really listened. We trusted him from the start.”
“After he spent some time with us and around the school, he presented us with the narrative and a design plan. I had tears in my eyes. He bought all the stuff in my head to life.”
In the background is the blue bench inspired by the school’s logo. Image credit - Scott Sinton.
Speaking to Richard, It is clear he felt a huge weight of responsibility to deliver something unique for what he describes as a very special place. "The project is an interwoven story which connects with the students, the community and the area."
To hit the brief he met with Room 6 (a year seven class) in the early stages of the design process. Neville says the students provided some amazing insights into what was important to them and their school. He says their input had a huge impact on the result.
The school logo.
An important perspective to come out of the work with the students was their attachment to the school logo and another was their enthusiasm for flowers. This took Neville by surprise. Neville also took inspiration from the school mission statement.
The result is a design that features 26 kauri trees that walk you from the front gate to the school office. “The trees stand tall, proud and confident (linking with the school mission statement). The school has real mana within its community so it is a way of communicating that.”
One of the 26 kauri trees included in the garden. Image credit - Scott Sinton.
The final four kauri represent Te Whare Tapa Whā, the model developed by leading Māori health advocate Sir Mason Durie in 1984. The model describes health and wellbeing as a wharenui (meeting house) with four walls. According to the model, the walls represent taha wairua (spiritual wellbeing), taha hinengaro (mental and emotional wellbeing), taha tinana (physical wellbeing) and taha whanau (family and social wellbeing). Connection with the whenua (land) forms the foundation.
A meandering new pathway weaves the kauri trees together and is symbolic of the local Manutewhau stream. On that pathway are three long curved benches a blue, a black and a gold. These represent the three arches of the school logo. “They form one of the backbones of the design - a result of the student input and their connection with the logo,” says Neville. “These benches form pieces of land art and of course offer opportunities to sit and come together."
Students play on the recycled tree stumps. Image credit - Scott Sinton.
The school's six learning teams are named after native trees - so manuka, rimu, totara, puriri and kowhai all feature and a pohutukawa sits at the top of the entrance - to represent the team of the year eight students, the seniors at the school.
Asked if the students got the flowers they were so keen on, Neville says they did - in abundance.
“The essence of the plant palette is native, grounded in Tāmaki Makaurau and Aotearoa. These play alongside a selection of non native plants offering connections to other parts of the world and linking with the diversity of the school. It is very dynamic, vibrant and colourful.”
He says around 3000 plants from over 60 different plant species are included which makes for excellent diversity. “At a larger scale, it is important to acknowledge our place in a climate and biodiversity crisis – how can we design in way that responds to it?”
The gold bench, also representing the school logo. Image credit - Scott Sinton.
Neville is excited by the way the project has been received. “I think the best feedback is visiting the school during a morning. It's the students using it, tearing around the pathways, jumping on the long curved benches, running over the tree stumps, sitting perched reading a book alone and feeling safe.”
“The deputy principal, Janet Bell, said something off the cuff one day, which really hit me. Her words were 'the garden engenders joy’ - I loved that.”
Recycled concrete steppers. Image credit - Scott Sinton.
For principal Vicki Hitchcock the finished masterpiece has surpassed her hopes. “It is important for our children to feel grounded and that they belong. It’s all about whakawhanaungatanga. Richard and the team have created an environment that allows our children to thrive, that reinforces their connection to the school, the community and the whenua.”
And for Richard Neville: “This was a deeply emotional project for me, I put a huge amount of love into it. It’s a pleasure to drop in for a visit.”
Design - Neville Design Studio
Creative co-lab - Room 6
Build - Feature Landscapes
Murals - Erika Pearce
Garden Care - The Mindful Gardener
