Winning design for the future

Award-winning solutions: Isabella Muirhead with some of her thesis work which took a year to complete. The plan reveals how one might belong to the land. Picture by David St George

A student with strong links to Gisborne has won a prestigious architecture award for an “aspirational” design project that could, in theory, transform an East Coast sheep and beef farm into an environmental, learning and farming space of the future. The Herald’s Andrew Ashton talks to the woman with the master plan . . .

A transformational speculative “master plan”  to redefine how an East Coast farm could recover from Cyclone Gabrielle has earned an architecture student the 2023 Resene Student Design Award.

Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland, Te Pare School of Architecture and Planning student Isabella Muirhead won with Common Ground, a design focused on Hiwiroa Station, a family farm north of Gisborne severely damaged by weather events.

The 23-year-old’s design proposes a significant built response underpinned by sustainable use and re-use, and by enriching community.

Her design involves a master plan, which proposes large-scale forest regeneration, the restoration of traditional mahinga kai, and selective farming corridors for a downsized sheep and beef operation, with land-use decisions made based on the suitability of the terrain rather than productive capacity.

Speaking to The Gisborne Herald she said she had been inspired to do the one-year thesis after seeing the devastation wrought by Cyclone Gabrielle on the East Coast.

“The idea is you make a design proposal and then you write about all the history, theory and justification for why you have done what you have done,” she said.

“My dad’s side of the family is from Gisborne and so it’s a place that’s very dear to my heart. I’ve spent a lot of time in the region over the years.

“I was really distraught to see the  environmental damage that was occurring in the region and my second cousin is currently the owner of a farm which is where the thesis is based, at Hiwiroa Station, at the top of the Waimata Valley.

“So, that seemed like the perfect case study to  explore the issues of environmental damage.

“The thesis moves the function of the property away from its current status as a sheep and beef farm and it really tries to turn the property into a model for our future land management in this region.

“It looks at the interplay between regenerative native forests and conventional farming, in a really optimistic manner and so the building is really a reflection of that.

“It takes the existing woolshed on the site and proposes an equivalent space for use of plant materials and then also a workshop and a forum for conversation. So it’s used not only in a productive capacity but also serves as a space for the regeneration of knowledge.

“The core purpose is really to encourage  the entire country, but particularly the East Coast community, to come together and learn from each other, taking knowledge from all walks of life.”

The architectural proposal is anchored in the masterplan.

“Really, the point of it for me was to try to offer something aspirational for the region. I think the East Coast deserves a lot more than it gets. I think it is a beautiful region with beautiful people and so this is my opportunity, through a very idealistic, academic lens to try to envision a really cool future for this place: what it might look like and how we might achieve that.

“I would love for it to happen; that would be an absolute dream. There has not been any discussion about that so far, but if someone wants to put their hand up, I’d love to chat with them.

“The student design award is run by the Institute of Architects and is considered the premiere award for architecture students in New Zealand.

“So this is pretty cool — I’m stoked,” she said.

Entrants in the award are selected by the four main schools of architecture in New Zealand and then they present their projects to a panel of judges — Judith Taylor and Australian architect Kevin O’Brien.

The judges cited her work as: “Flawless and impressive, incredibly sophisticated in thinking, demonstration, execution and presentation. This is a massive undertaking philosophically and it is beautifully held together by the premise of weaving, which also serves as a guide.

“The concept sits within the understandings of both the Māori and Pākehā worlds. The knowledge of both worlds is celebrated, neither is compromised. They elevate each other. Radical tension is present. The fundamental question of what it means to be Māori and Pākehā and dealing with modernity, without losing culture, has been asked.

“While the proposition for the site is significant, it’s one to be excited about. Despite the structure being bold, the way it has been portrayed through lines of sight, how the spaces work and link present ideas that are interesting and well resolved. The site and its value have been fully understood through significant thinking. The plan reveals how one might belong to the land.

“The concept is underpinned by sustainable use and re-use and by enriching community.

“The building allows occupation on the site in a very interesting and sincere way. The solution to spaces and their use is democratic. There is incredibly deep thinking and impressive resolution.

“The project acknowledges the mental health fallout for people living on land that has been devastated by severe weather events and brings inspiration and fresh hope.

“Materiality is beautifully rendered, regional in nature and reflects cultural history.

“Deliberate framing enables the hill to be seen and to breathe.”