Victoria Carran

Currently studying her Masters at UNITEC, Victoria Carran is sharing her Resource Matters project from last year.

Read below to find out more about her project Resting Whare.

Resting Whare is a tramping hut built from the ground in which it sits. It is a simple structure that provides the basic requirements to rest. Set into the ground, it is enveloping and cave-like, with a thick earth spine constructed from the excavated clay subsoil and a dense raupō roof that stretches down to the ground on two sides, referencing a whare. 

Resting Whare is a project that was rooted in your ancestry. Where are some specific points in your process where you had to look to your ancestors for design solutions?

While researching the application of natural materials to contemporary architecture I was able to look to my ancestors for clues to how to design sustainable architecture for the future. Pre-European Māori architecture was naturally renewable, constructed from a diverse range of locally sourced materials and native plants. A harmonious relationship with the environment was required for survival.

Site selection is determined by the availability of materials, allowing for a building that is made directly from its natural environment. This direct relationship between the availability of resources and site selection reflects a pre-European method of settlement. Ideally, timber and Raupō can be harvested and processed nearby.

How do you encourage non- Māori to approach Kaitiakitanga in architecture and how has this been addressed in your project?

Consider what has happened before you, what is happening around you currently, and what will happen in the future.

Of importance to Māori in the context of architecture is a communal approach to resources, acknowledging the past and the future through sustainable harvest and cultivation through practicing kaitiakitanga. I am interested in how I can learn from the traditional materials and methods used in Māori architecture and how these could be interpreted through contemporary design. 

I have designed a communal resting space that could be built on DOC land near a body of water and a tramping track. Site selection will be determined by the availability of materials, allowing for a building that is made directly from its natural environment. This direct relationship between the availability of resources and site selection reflects a pre-European method of settlement. Ideally, timber and Raupō can be harvested and processed nearby. Clay subsoil can be excavated from the building site and reused directly in adobe bricks that form the structural spine, seating, and low border walls. The main construction is simple and able to be carried out remotely by community members.

Thank you Victoria for sharing your mahi with us and all the best!