The Contemporary Chinatown: An exploration into Chinese-New Zealand identity through Food, Drawing and Architecture
Identity operates within the hearts of Chinese-Kiwis as an expanding collection of memories, traditions, stories and language. Drawing inspiration from these concepts, this thesis brings an opportunity to explore and celebrate the established and developing local Chinese identity within Auckland, New Zealand through a sensory journey of culinary traditions and the active consumption of food. This creative platform allows us to address the loss of cultural and local characteristics experienced by successive generations of Chinese-New Zealanders torn between the notion of home ‘here’ and home ‘away’ as well as the development of its cultural identity and its relevance in today’s society.
This thesis explores the question: How
can food and architecture help further establish and develop the growing
Chinese-New Zealand identity within the urban fabric of Auckland?