Invisible architects: in search of Maori practitioners in architecture

Abstract

Except for the enormous contributions of two Maori architects (John Scott and Rewi Thompson) to the field of architecture little is known about the status of other Maori architects in New Zealand. It was at the reception for the 1990 Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa design competition that brought up the question of why there were no Maori architects in the five finalists. Auckland architect, Nigel Cook, recognised the fact that there were so few Maori architects and that their impact on New Zealand architecture was unrecognised. In light of Nigel Cook's comments this report investigates the penetration of Maori practitioners in architecture and the recognition that is given them. A number of searches were instigated to find: firstly, the number of architects, graduates and students; and secondly, to sec what their visibility was in the market place. The survey at this point was concerned about the status of Maori architecture in New Zealand and therefore included all practitioners in the field of Maori architecture including advisers, artists, carvers, conservators, designers, elders and more. Although searches were based around the architectural profession, a number of practitioners were used to provide a richer background source. Some of these people were Pakeha. From the resulting searches a contact list of one hundred people was collected. Twenty seven respondents contributed to the background information of the report. With regard to Maori students progressing through the schools, the numbers are slowly increasing but not at any appreciable rate. The visibility of Maori architects will therefore be the same in a four years if the growth rate stays the same. As far as present visibility, many respondents were well recognised on the marae, in the profession, in the industry and at scholastic level. Most architects had high to very high visibility in each of these fields. There are several conclusions drawn from this study with regard to the visibility of the Maori architect. -the number of students through the schools is not appreciable enough to raise visibility in the market place. -because Maori architects choose to work in small practices, isolation affects their visibility in the market place. -the projects that they do are not highly visible. That is to say the status of Maori architecture and / or marae based work is not recognised to any great extent. Lastly, the Author puts forward recommendations for debate on the future of the Maori architect.