Rethinking and recreating what a papa-tākaro (play-space) looks like in 21st Century Aotearoa.
Whānau Ātea is a destination recreation space for Māngere and the wider region of Tāmaki Makaurau / Auckland and Aotearoa / New Zealand where whānau and hapori whānui (community) can gather, connect, explore, learn and play together, in harmony with their natural surroundings and be encompassed by the unique history of the Te Pane a Mataoho / Te Ara Pueru / Te Ara Topuni / Māngere Maunga.
Whānau Ātea is one of the first projects of its kind and scale undertaken by the Tūpuna Maunga Authority (TMA) which rethinks and recreates what a papa-tākaro (play-space) looks like in 21st-century Aotearoa. It will be a unique papa-tākaro fusing traditional (hupara) and contemporary play, tākaro taiao (nature play), active recreation (skatepark, basketball, kīorahi), and preserve the many cultural practices and traditions that were once prevalent on Te Pane-a-Mataoho | Te Ara Pueru | Māngere Maunga.
Boffa Miskell previously worked with the authority preparing the Integrated Management Plan and Strategies. It was envisioned by the TMA that a māra hupara (traditional playspace) be developed on Te Pane-a-Mataoho to enable play experiences that appeal to all ages and capabilities, retelling pūrākau (narratives) through play, to connect and restore the whenua, and to celebrate the significance of our tūpuna maunga (ancestral mountains).