Amohia Ake houses the new regional offices for ACC in the Waikato. Ensuring that the building is imbued with the cultural beliefs and perspectives of Waikato Tainui was an important element of the design process.

Boffa Miskell were responsible for the landscape design, working closely with the wider design team to ensure a cohesive and coordinated design and constructability response.

Collaborative design workshops with Waikato-Tainui throughout the design development provided a framework for the work in progress and inclusion of a meaningful, appropriate, and approved cultural narrative embodying Waikato-Tainui’s identity and connection to the whenua.

Location

Waikato

Worked with

Hawkins
Taylor Coleman
Millard Construction Cost Consultants
Warren and Mahoney
Beca
NDY
Bell Gully
Pacific Building Performance
Mott MacDonald
Rider Levitt Bucknall

Project date

2019 - 2022

The design reflects the context of the site and its relationship with Lake Rotoroa and Te Awa o Waikato (Waikato River) through use of materiality, planting and the opportunity for cultural markers. The landscape design complements the building’s architecture and form through the use of materials, colours and layout.

Renata Te Wiata, Head of Carving for Waikato-Tainui, created the designs on the glass exterior, pathways and retaining walls, which are distinctive to Waikato iwi, tell the story of the whenua, its crops, and the importance of the nearby Waikato awa and its life-giving waters.

Landscape design opportunities included etched concrete walls and paving, and customised hardwood furniture and signage. The native plant palette selected connects to Te Awa o Waikato, Lake Rotoroa, and the Western Town Belt. Tōtara and kōwhai once dominated the low terraces associated with Te Awa o Waikato, and both tree species have been included in the plant palette.

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