SUMMER 2017 47
TAIAO : The project should acknowledge and incorporate the natural environment .
Horowhenua ; to frame these solutions as possible futures ; to communicate these to the wider community and to investigate the nature of bi-cultural design partnerships and their potential influence on the culture and environment of this country .
• Mana : Mana Whenua have been respected , recognised and actively engaged with the project , preferably led by Mana Whenua for the rohe .
Rae ki te Rae is a ‘ research at the interface ’ project involving Māori and non-Māori in an equal relationship . During the first year of the partnership , we developed a protocol to ensure the work proceeded in a way that respects the rights of both . Non-Māori staff and masters students engage first hand with tāngata whenua at co-funded wānanga held at Kikopiri , Tukorehe , Te Pou o Tainui and Raukawa marae . We build active relationships where the mana of place is shared through oral narrative of turangawaewae ( the ultimate homeplace ). Every year , 20 students in landscape architecture are immersed in place through hīkoi ( walking and talking hui ) to enhance their understanding of intricate whakapapa or genealogical relationships to lands , waterways , wetlands and streams .
• Whakapapa : Names and naming should reference local associations .
Whakapapa is the conceptual framework for the project . It helps to transcend boundaries and bring multi-disciplinary entities , kaitiaki groups , students , staff and specialists together in meaningful ways . Throughout the Rae ki te Rae project we reference Māori names of place and draw upon their meaning
to local hapū , to ground and assist students in their project endeavours . Whakapapa has also been used as a key methodology , encouraging students to engage with iwi culture on a deeper level .
• Tohu : The project should recognise and incorporate the wider cultural landscape .
The Rae ki te Rae project reinvigorates the tohu ( cultural signs ) within the landscape , where embedded stories of place , the exploits of ancestors or activities of taniwha enrich the view of landscape . These shared narratives are critically important to the students for developing a better understanding of Māori material , spiritual and political worldviews . Rae ki te Rae also recognises and incorporates bicultural landscapes , where important historic events have occurred as part of Aotearoa New Zealand ’ s national identity .
• Taiao : The project should acknowledge and incorporate the natural environment .
Rae ki te Rae was established to address the degradation of the Horowhenua ’ s coastal environment , assisting iwi and hapū to visualize solutions for freshwater decline . It recognises how pollution impacts on the mauri or life vitality of revered places affecting communities reliant on the land and often manifesting in disquiet , disunity , or fragmentation amongst peoples .
• Mauri Tu : Environmental mauri ( including the human environment ) should be enhanced .
The project aims to assist kaitiaki to protect cultural landscape , the mauri of resources and the natural environment . The student ’ s designs encourage others to visualise the amelioration of environmental