"Te Ō" (Placemaking & Wayfinding)

— The Brief
When people think of social housing, they think of soulless clustered homes made to fit many. Working with Kāinga Ora, we wanted to make the residence a celebration of community as well as honouring the Māori land it sat on. Over two years, we worked with local manufacturers, buildings and the client, to create Te Ō - a wayfinding system inspired by New Zealand's cultural richness, both in concept and materials used, and intended to bring people together, like families in a picture frame.

— The Production Challenge
This was a marathon of diplomacy as well as creativity. We were working directly with council, who were risk-averse and had a range of approval processes; local iwi, who wanted the land to be honoured and protected; manufacturers, whose priority was to respect the material and work to strict timelines; and construction team, who couldn't linger in the middle of build. On the side, I also needed to consider the creative team, who had other projects on its plate.

— The Result
It took over 2 years to complete Te Ō, but the result was breathtaking, winning us approval from the council and a few awards too.