Elyjana Roach

Victoria University of Wellington

Porirua born-and-bred Elyjana Roach is in her final year at Victoria University of Wellington where she has been combining her talent and fascination with expressive lines, colour, pencil drawings and collage with her love for architecture — of imagining places that don’t exist yet, especially in her home city that could do with a bit of help! Read on for more…

Student Architecture Network New Zealand: In 20 words, what is your thesis about?
Elyjana Roach: Re-designing Porirua City centre focusing on mitigating its regular floods + improving the ecology of its harbour + affirming its massive cultural identity + the inevitability of urbanisation = my thesis. I’ve publicly named it “The City that Waits” as a metaphor for giving power to the people in anticipation for Porirua’s future.

SANNZ: Who is your supervisor and why did you choose to work with her?
Elyjana: Kerstin Thompson — because as well as being an architect in Melbourne who runs her own practice, she’s low-key been killing it for ages, is kind, has good style, and has really invaluable experience and wisdom. We can learn a lot from what is happening across the ditch, so it’s really great exposure for us.

SANNZ: When you started your Master’s just over a year ago at the start of fourth year, did you think your thesis would take this direction?
Elyjana: Not necessarily. But I knew that it was going to deal with urban design in Porirua, giving power to the people, the cultural identity of Pacific Island and Maori in an ever-growing multicultural society, and using art as a tool for engaging imagination in every generation. And, because I’m a bit of a hippie, cleaning up the harbour.

SANNZ: What are your plans for next year?
Elyjana: In addition to working towards registration, I’ll be catching up on sleep from the last 5 years, and definitely, more art. I’d like to start an art collective, based on the talent in Porirua, and begin to carry out some projects that contribute and add value to the civic spaces in the city. I’ll be working in the architecture industry to see what New Zealand practices do well/don’t do so well, gain more experience overseas to see what they do well that we (in New Zealand) don’t do well, then come back and start a practice that, altogether, does things well. That’s what it is at the moment but that might change. 

SANNZ: And, do you feel that architecture school has prepared you for the realities of working in the industry?
Elyjana: Has it prepared me for the industry? The content part of architecture school — to some extent, yes. The manage your time/try to find life balance/prioritise/get motivated part of architecture school — yes (to some extent).

SANNZ: Do you work while studying? How do you find the balance?
Elyjana: I work 15 hours a week. There’s no such thing as balance, it’s more about prioritising. In the words of my wise father: “If you have balance, you’re not moving anywhere.” Life is always busy, you just get on and do it and make it work. Plus, or more ultimately, I have Jesus on my side.

SANNZ: What music or artist has helped you get through architecture school?
Elyjana: It usually follows the sequence of Jesus music in the morning, Snarky Puppy in the afternoon, then progressively straight up rap in the night. Although these days it’s more just Jesus music and instrumentals of soundscapes of mainly rainforests, water, crickets etc. I particularly enjoy their titles such as Humback Whale Above And Below and Late Afternoon To Dusk In An African Rainforest. I wish I could say that Scribe ‘Not Many’ was my theme song for Uni but truthfully, Drake has been there since we started from the bottom.

SANNZ: What coffee has fuelled your degree and where do you usually buy it from?
Elyjana: Raglan Roast. They know my name, I know theirs — whenever I have coffee anywhere else I feel like I’m playing up on our relationship.

SANNZ: Where are you from? What’s your opinion of the architecture or built environment there?
Elyjana: I’m from Porirua… represent! Ha! I have a habit of saying “represent” as if the name Porirua triggers something in me that thinks I’m an ultimate city mascot ~ Power to the people ~. If I thought the built environment was awesome then I wouldn’t have a thesis. The majority of the built environment in the city centre has been developed in a way that I feel like slapping whoever designed it. There are far too many roundabouts and the building’s all turn their back on the harbour?! Its architecture is such that you might say “underdeveloped”, which is actually awesome for me and other designers because there’s a lot that can be done. It’s a relatively young city, 50 years old, with the youngest population demographic in New Zealand. Those facts excite me because my work, and other’s work in the city can then add and showcase the city’s identity in a real and distinctive way. And I find that super cool. The PATAKA Art + Museum, designed by Architecture+ in 2001, is a really beautiful project and adds a whole lot to the city. It’s one of the buildings that inspired me to study architecture.

SANNZ: What keeps you occupied outside of study?
Elyjana: My hilarious 8-going-on-18 year old sister. We like to have constant dance battles in our lounge. I’m also involved in my local church which is fun. I have friends too (more than one… I hope). My house a lot of the time is occupied with people, which means the word ‘family’ is far bigger than my immediate mum, dad, bro, sis. Anyone who’s grown up in a Pacific Island background, or church life,  knows what it is to do family, so there’s always things going on!

SANNZ: If you could invite two architects to dinner with you, who would they be and why?
Elyjana: My granddad, Austin. He was technically not an architect but was a builder and built homes, halls, and a hospital in Papua New Guinea, as well as their home in Tasmania. I never had the chance to meet him, so dinner with him would be grand like Grand Budapest Hotel. We’d have so much to catch up on so I think inviting another architect to dinner would be inconsiderate.

SANNZ: What do you enjoy most about architecture school? Or, what will you miss the most about architecture school when you leave?
Elyjana: People. I will definitely miss the people! It’s always the people. Power to the people.

SANNZ: If you could design a building anywhere in New Zealand, what type would it be and where?
Elyjana: A water theme park on the harbour in Porirua, with really tall luscious trees throughout it, tree houses, flying foxes, bridges, slides, pools, jumping platforms, hammocks, basketball courts, boats (or wakas)… which is not really a building but, pretty much everything that I draw in my illustrations, I wish I could design in real life.

SANNZ: What is your favourite time of day?
Elyjana: Every time someone laughs, particularly after a joke I share — and lunch.

SANNZ: Who is your biggest support person at the moment?
Elyjana: My sister — she sends me GIFS and Snapchats with the most entertaining captions through my Mum’s account. She brings joy to my life. Oh and my brother — he brings me McDonalds.

SANNZ: If you were a brand, what would be your motto?
Elyjana: ~ Power to the people ~