The Drawing Board explores architectural design through a Māori lens, focusing on Rotorua’s Wai Ariki Spa.
David Tapsell highlights the spa’s foundation in Ngāti Whakaue wellness and healing traditions.
Wai Ariki Spa merges tradition and innovation, embodying Ngāti Whakaue’s cultural and ancestral connections.
Tonight The Drawing Board delves into the transformative power of architectural design through a Māori lens, highlighting how space and place are shaped by culture and ancestral wisdom.
At the heart of this exploration is Wai Ariki Spa, a groundbreaking project in Rotorua that blends contemporary design with rich Māori traditions.
David Tapsell, chairman of the Pukeroa Oruawhata Trust, says the spiritual and cultural foundations of the project make it unique.
“The whole concept of Wai Ariki was built around the Ngāti Whakaue concept of wellness and healing from a Māori perspective, from our perspective.”
The design of Wai Ariki Spa is a vivid expression of Ngāti Whakaue tradition, linking the past and the present through its architecture and cultural symbolism.
Rawiri Waru, cultural advisor, stresses the importance of maintaining the tribe’s authority over the land.
“It is of great importance to observe our authority on this land.”
From the sculptural ancestors standing firm outside to the intricate kowhai patterns inside, every detail of the spa is imbued with deep cultural meaning.
As Waru explains: “A building must be able to speak. When one enters a meeting house or steps foot into a courtyard, the carved figures embody stories”.
The Drawing Board presenter Māori architect Derek Kawiti.
The design also references the Te Arawa waka, the ancestral canoe that carried Ngāti Whakaue’s ancestors to New Zealand around 1350 AD, with its sweeping roof evoking the shape of a waka pulled up on the shore.
“It’s referencing the whare, it’s referencing the waka… It’s the tectonic place of the land,“ Lenihan says.
The architecture also incorporates the symbols of the aramoana (waves) and the three baskets of knowledge, essential to Māori cosmology.
“Because our traditional histories derive from these three baskets of knowledge,” Waru says.
The geothermal energy that powers the spa is reflected in the design, tying the building to the land’s natural elements and reinforcing its spiritual significance.
Wai Ariki Spa is a space where tradition and innovation merge seamlessly, offering bvisitors and locals a sanctuary deeply connected to the land and its ancestors.
“We wanted to bring in a much more contemporary consideration of, you know, what is Māori architecture? What could it be?,” says Lenihan.
By integrating modern design with cultural integrity, Wai Ariki Spa stands as a living testament to the enduring relationship between Ngāti Whakaue and their ancestral homeland.
Through its architecture, Wai Ariki Spa provides an immersive experience that speaks to the past while embracing the future, making it a powerful symbol of Māori identity and a spiritual destination for all who visit.
