Waewae Taku Haere: Study Notes

Spatial design in Aotearoa New Zealand requires attuning to storied landscapes by decolonising design processes and re-indigenising pedagogy under Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
A six-week studio project at Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa Massey University engaged a rōpū ako (learning group) of 27 undergraduate spatial design students alongside a rōpū kaiako (teaching group) comprising Jen Archer-Martin (Ngāpuhi, Pākehā), Stuart Foster (Tangata Tiriti), and Kura Puke (Te Āti Awa, Taranaki Whānui).
The project shifted spatial design practice from colonial site analysis and land commodification toward embodied engagement, relational attunement, and stepping into belonging.

Three Taonga (Treasures):
- Whenua: The land as the living manifestation of Papatūānuku.
- Pātere: "Waewae Taku Haere", composed by Kura Moeahu (Te Āti Awa) with melody by Ngātaiharuru Taepa for Te Rau Karamu marae, which maps ancestral sites and place names in the landscape.
- Moana Jackson: Leader in Māori thought whose text Where to Next? Decolonisation and the Stories in the Land provided an ethic of restoration and reciprocal care.
Ako and Ceremonial Pedagogy: Framed around ako (reciprocal learning and teaching) and Shawn Wilson's concept of research as ceremony, using tikanga (protocols), tapu (sacredness), and noa (everydayness) to ensure physical, emotional, and spiritual safety.
Indigenous Storywork: Grounded in Jo-ann Archibald’s model of becoming "story-ready" through respect, responsibility, reverence, reciprocity, holism, interrelatedness, and synergy.

Week 1 (Whakatakoto tūāpapa - Grounding): Introductory site visits, hīkoi (walking the land), site mapping, and developing initial 1:1 experiential responses.
Week 2 (Whakaeke - Stepping in): Critical/contextual research, concept generation, and 1:1 testing.
Week 3 (Whakatuia - Intertwining 1): Concept selection, 1:1 testing, and critical reflection-in-action.
Week 4 (Whakatuia - Intertwining 2): Developed design phase.
Week 5 (Whakatau - Exchange/Settling): Design refinement and spatial communication.
Week 6 (Whakakapi - Concluding): Final design communication and (re)presentation.

Verse 1 (Ranga-a-Hiwi): Explores atmospheric sensations of wind, breath (hau), and ridge-line anticipation (Ka eke).
Verse 2 (Waipapa): Spatialises the whakapapa journey of water (wai) from sky to sea through audio and projection (Rukuruku au).
Verse 3 (Hue te Para): Focuses on south coast bays, collective responsibility, kaitiakitanga (guardianship), and manaakitanga (Āio).
Verse 4 (Matairangi): Provides a meditative night-sky space reconnecting to deep time and celestial observation (Matairangi).
Verse 5 (Waihirere): Examines rushing water energies, flooding, and the continuity of Māori settlements (Kōtiutiu).
Verse 6 (Hauwai): Reflects on drained wetlands, the colonial site of Government House, and cicada sensoriums to see beyond colonial perspectives (Tiritiria).
Verse 7 (Huriwhenua): Addresses the flattening of Pukeahu hill and the incarceration of Parihaka prisoners, transforming grief and anger into physical labor with clay (Pakē pakē).
Verse 8 (Te Rau Karamu Marae): Concludes at the campus marae, reinforcing collective identity, belonging, and a Te Tiriti-led approach to spatial practice.