āAroha mai, aroha atu.ā ā MÄori proverb
An Australian colleague asked me the other day what was the weirdest or most unexpected thing I have experienced or discovered in Auckland and/or New Zealand so far. The truth is I had already come to terms with the Sun moving in the opposite direction because I lived in Melbourne some years ago for a quarter of a year, so that got me thinking. I was nicely surprised by the fresh air, the breeze, the smell of the pure sea (moana) and its freshness. And I was also impressed by the colours of the sunset - you donāt have to look at it very hard to notice the intensity of the light.
However, if anything unexpected has truly made an impact on me, that has been definitely getting to know more about and learn from the MÄori culture and seeing how embedded in New Zealandersā day-to-day it is.
I wonāt bother you with History, you can find a lot on the Treaty of Waitangi if you are interested in the topic (I really recommend reading about it), but a little observation I am appreciating on the way the MÄori culture influences life in NZ, and how much we can learn from that, especially us architects and urban designers, is the relationship they have with the land.
The MÄori have a strong, deeper connection with the land they inhabit. They celebrate and honour the land, all living things, and all inanimate natural features, like lakes, rivers, mountains, trees..., and forces, like the wind, the breeze, the frost, the tidesā¦ āWithout our lands we do not exist - in our world view, we are the land and the land is usā, writes Dr Hinemoa Elder in her book Aroha.
The MÄori also reflect this love for natural forces in their art. This beautiful piece we have in our office is a tukutuku panel, a wooden lattice that honours Tangaroa, the god of the ocean.
What captures my attention every time I look at this gorgeous piece is the way it abstracts the concept of the sea, representing its colours and wavy movement. The craft of it is just incredible.
Lately, I am reading a lot about MÄori and NZ local culture. Itās always fascinating to learn from different cultures but I am finding particularly the MÄori a very interesting and relevant one. Seems that weāve forgotten to understand and observe the local climates and ecosystems, and generally forced a more āstandardā way of planning and building cities. As architects and urban designers, and as artists as well, we have so much to learn from this (truly sustainable) approach of honouring and enhancing the land we dwell.
Happy reading!Ā šāØ
Ana
šĀ What Iām reading inĀ March 2023:
I am enjoyingĀ ArohaĀ by Dr Hinemoa Elder, a relaxed read on MÄori nuggets of wisdom, proverbs, or whakataukÄ«.
Coast, Country, Neighbourhood, City by Isthmus. A colleague very kindly brought me a copy of this wonderful book that reveals the kind of sustainable approach I was talking about and that they embrace in urban and landscape design in their practice.
I started reading One Year Drawn by Peter Bossley, a collection of his notes, sketches, and reflections on his trip to Europe in the early 80s. This has been such a special book to find for personal reasons as it reminds me of my own āKiwi Chroniclesā. Will reveal more and write about it in more specific detail in the next posts.
I am hooked and super excited to be reading Creativity, Inc. by Amy Wallace and Edwin Catmull, and I couldnāt recommend it more. The latter is one of the co-founders of Pixar, and in this book, he uses the style of a memoir to share the lessons on managing a creative enterprise he learned throughout the history of the iconic film studio.