Tiaki Over Time: mentoring visiting students

Fourteen landscape architecture students from the University of Washington (Seattle) participated in a research and design process along the Ōtakaro Avon River Corridor in Ōtautahi Christchurch.

Mapihi Martin-Paul, Kaiaho – Te Hīhiri / Graduate Advisor – Māori from Boffa Miskell’s Christchurch office was asked to review and critique their work.

Building upon the work of an earlier group of students, who conceptualised a cultural trail along the river corridor, these students took a detailed approach in designing landings (access points) along the waterway.

A summary publication of their work states:

“The focus… is the landings proposed by the AORC Regeneration Plan and surrounding stopbanks that will be made necessary by sea-level rise. Our studio’s guiding principle is Taiki Over Time… this speaks to the practice of guardianship and stewardship over the land. This framework of care required a sensitive ecological approach to our proposed landscape interventions and engaged natural processes to achieve our designs.”

“Seeing how these students took on the Avon Landings was inspiring,” says Mapihi. “Their creativity and ability to think outside of the box wasn’t limited by the typical things that creep to the top of the development process for consultants like me — feasibility, technicalities or price.

“The students really took on board what these places meant to the people of Ōtautahi Christchurch — physically, emotionally and spiritually. I was impressed with how interested they were in indigenous/Māori values and the way in which they used these to drive their design thinking was refreshing to see.”

For further information please contact Mapihi Martin-Paul