Whakaora i te Mauri o te Whenua

LAND411 explores how landscape design can respond to sites affected by a multifaceted array of social, cultural, political, and environmental factors. Thanks to its extinct military use and strategic location, Mātai Moana holds immense ecological and historic value, particularly Māori. To contribute to the debate around the future of the whenua (land), a participatory project was facilitated by LAND411/2024. Many locals, as well as representatives from 22 different community groups and mana whenua (indigenous people who have historic and territorial rights over the land), participated in a series of site visits, seminars, workshops, and reviews. The goal was to collectively design different master plans for the whole area, as well as a wide range of site-specific interventions. The students' designs were grounded on site knowledge, mātauranga Māori (indigenous knowledge), and community aspirations. The participatory project continued once the course was over with the goal to define a final consensus design used to influence land protection and a gradual transformation of the area. Lauren Kendon & Zoe Mason’s design Whakaora i te Mauri o te Whenua focuses on the reconnection of people, history, and nature to restore the mauri (life force) of the land through ecological restoration and community engagement. This is achieved through the reconnection of key Māori concepts into the landscape. These concepts include Whakapapa (the lineage between people and the land), Mauri (the life force in ecosystems), Kaitiakitanga (duty of guardianship towards the environment), Whenua (spiritual and cultural significance of the land), Kotahitanga (interconnected relationships within communities) and Whanaungatanga (cultural resilience and harmony with nature).