Incorporating community and cultural values into hapū housing development.

The Kāinga Tuatahi project is the first housing intensification project to come out of the Ōrākei Papākainga Masterplan (2013). Boffa Miskell landscape architects and urban designers completed the master plan for the Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei Trust. 

The 30-house village on Kupe Street is located on ancestral land and will have a strong focus on the community and cultural values of Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei. Boffa Miskell developed a landscape concept that incorporates the cultural values of Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei into a contemporary design. 

Kupe Street and others in Ōrākei date back to a 1928 Garden Suburb design by Reg Hammond, New Zealand’s first professional town planner.

Client

Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei Trust

Location

Auckland

Project team

Yoko Tanaka
Rachel de Lambert
Mark Lewis

Worked with

Barker & Associates
Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei
R20 Consulting Engineers
Steven Lawson Architects
Sullivan Hall Engineers

Project date

2013 - 2015

Awards

Commendation | Best Practice District / Regional Planning | NZPI Annual Awards
Silver Award | Housing Multi Unit | NZIA Auckland Architecture Award

The themes of water-sensitive design, community, productive landscapes, biodiversity, public/private outdoor space balance and health and well-being are expressed throughout the landscape design for the Kāinga Tuatahi project.

Native and locally sourced planting will be used for creating a sense of space between buildings, while a communal orchard and vegetable gardens will encourage healthy lifestyles.

Safety has been a consideration with appropriate sight lines to communal spaces created and ‘slow zone’ access ways that encourage pedestrian activity and low-speed traffic. Open spaces and communal amenities such as BBQs, playgrounds and pocket parks facilitate community and group gatherings, helping to create a collaborative community environment that supports interaction between tribal members and visitors. Each house also has its own private open space for time away from the wider community.

When built, the Ōrākei Kāinga Tuatahi project, and architects Stevens Lawson, were awarded a 2017 NZIA Auckland Chapter Award for multi-unit housing.

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