Understanding Contemporary Māori Architecture Ko te whare e hanga te tangata
Presented by Dr Deidre Brown, recipient of the 2023 Gold Medal, Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects' highest honour, this a rare opportunity to hear about contemporary Māori architecture in Aotearoa today.
All Gold Medal lectures are free to attend thanks to the support of AON. Please book your tickets using the links below. Lectures commence at 4pm (except Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, which commence at 12.30pm).
Tauranga — Thursday 2 May 2024 | The Cargo Shed
Christchurch — Thursday 9 May | Christchurch Town Hall
Auckland — Wednesday 15 May | Viaduct Events Centre
Invercargill — Friday 17 May | Classic Motorcycle Mecca
Wellington — Thursday 23 May | St James Theatre
Palmerston North — Friday 24 May | Massey University Refectory Building
Nelson — Friday 7 June | Trafalgar Centre
Hastings — Friday 14 June | Municipal Building
Deidre (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Kahu) will discuss design approaches used by a range of architecture practices, the work of contemporary Māori practitioners, changes in architectural education and community as client.
“As the influence of te ao Māori on architectural design grows, so too does the number of Māori practitioners, who are now so numerous that they can rightfully be called a contemporary Māori architecture movement,” says Deidre, who graduated in 1993 with a Bachelor of Architecture with Honours from the University of Auckland.
In 2019, Deidre’s appointment as Head of Te Pare School of Architecture and Planning at that same university made her the first Indigenous woman in the world to hold such a position. The breadth of Professor Brown's work is remarkable, encompassing architecture and art, history and housing, culture and craft. As the 2023 Gold Medal jury said in bestowing this honour, ‘through teaching, research, writing, art curation, leadership and mentoring, Deidre has touched the lives of many. Her sphere of influence is so far-reaching that it’s impossible to define’.
In this free public lecture series, Deidre will share her extensive knowledge of Māori architecture and impart how the profession can apply this information in practice.
Ko te whare e hanga te tangata, ko te tangata e hangaia e te whare.
The whare builds the people, the people build the whare.