2021

Taiaroa : The Food Bowl of the North - Recalling Te Waimate, the birthplace of horticulture

Matthew Connolly

[email protected]
0211178385
https://www.instagram.com/___mc.photos/
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Isometric Te Waimate site collage with final architectural intervention created using authors own photos

This design-led thesis explores how an architectural proposition can regenerate the decimated provincial landscape of Aotearoa, New Zealand. By drawing on indigenous and historical knowledge, architecture is considered as a tool in overturning the current over commercialised supermarket food consumption model. 

A single multifaceted intervention adjacent to 200 hectares of Class A soil in Northland’s Te Waimate region acts as the antithesis to contemporary methods of food production, sale, and consumption in Northland. The scheme aims to reduce the steps between paddock and plate by selling seasonal produce from the land to sustain the growing local community of 15,000 and reduce the handling we see in commercial food production today. 

The architectural proposition explores the idea of an alternative approach to sustainability. This utilises contemporary knowledge of organic and regenerative farming practices, while viewing food production and storage through a historic and indigenous lens. These alternative influences have cultivated a nuanced understanding of seasonal, landscape-sensitive production and land use, which has filtered through every aspect of the project.  

In employing these hybrid ideas, architecture is used as a tool to create a positive social life, cleansing the way the surrounding Northland communities consume food. Ultimately, this results in a better understanding of how our land is used and valued, avoiding situations seen in Pukekohe. This thesis presents a visionary yet viable approach to the solution and is designed to maximise the possibilities within this topic beyond what is realistically possible in order to discover how food could be grown and consumed in the future. 

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Te Waimate Mission House - 35mm Film, Authors Own
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Historical Site Mapping
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Nā tō rourou, nā taku rourou ka ora ai te iwi 

With your food basket and my food basket, the people will thrive 

Peter Gordon, ONZM, Head Chef - Homeland Restaurant
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Historical Site Mapping

This thesis takes place in middle Northland. It pays respect to the people of Te Waimate (also known as Waimate North), past, present and future: Specifically, my forbears who call this place home, the Ngapuhi iwi and the Tauwhara hapu.

This body of work acknowledges the deep cultural tensions within the landscape over the past 200 years, and looks to take a step towards healing the divides within this place through the use of architecture. Healing of the landscape, healing of the ecology, healing of the economy and most importantly the healing of all the people of Te Waimate. 

This is an ambitious scheme; one which isn’t solely the answer but one which could provide a framework for a positive and productive future for all parties. 

This thesis is structured around the idea of research followed by a critical and rigourous response spanning various media such as photography, model making, fabrication and drawing

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1:200 Hand Built Project Model on 15 Year old Kauri Slab
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