Reframing | Spatial Planning | Concept Sketches

What

With consideration to all feedback received so far, the relocation of my project shifts the design from a tea house to an educational walk through the fernery and a tea service bar to taste a sliver of traditional Maori holistic approach to healing.

Features and Elements

• Custom bar counter on the left through the fernery entrance
• Semi circular decking underneath the counter
• Carefully designed biodegradable take-away cups for a gold coin donation to give back to the upkeep of the fernery
• Custom shelves to store tea jars
• 6 traditional tea types made from native New Zealand plants (as per Maori tradition of use)
• Informational brochure showing the list of teas and their purposes in healing.
• 6 of the associated plants potted along the top level of the fernery walk for easy access to all
• 6 laser cut and engraved metal screens which tell the stories of the history of each plant to go along side the plants along the walk
• Projector and screen by the entrance showing the process of how tea is made

Spatial Planning: Mapping Out

Concept Sketches

Feedback from 1:1

Research

Considering Colours

The national colours of the Māori, an indigenous people of Polynesian origin in New Zealand, are black, white and red. On the Maori flag Red – represents Te Whei Ao, the realm of Coming into Being. It symbolises the female element. It also represents active, flashing, southern, falling, emergence, forest, land and gestation. Red is Papatuanuku, the Earth Mother, the sustainer of all living things. Red is the colour of earth from which the first humans was made.

Patina

A green or brown film on the surface of bronze or similar metals, produced by oxidation over a long period “many bronzes have been overcleaned, their original patina removed and artificially replaced”. A gloss or sheen on a surface resulting from age or polishing.”

Basalt Flooring

Basanite is a black basaltic rock which mainly contains plagioclase, augite, olivine and nepheline and is formerly used as a touchstone. Basalt is a common extrusive igneous rock formed by the rapid cooling of basaltic lava exposed at or very near the surface of Earth. These rocks are composed of many distinct minerals. The process of formation of rocks is different for various rocks. Rocks are quarried from many years for various purposes.

Laser engraving on stone is particularly suitable for polished, ideally dark natural stones such as granite, marble, or basalt. The more homogeneous and fine-grained the stone, the better the results of the stone engraving will be. However, even pebbles can be processed well with the laser due to the smooth surface.

The Pou

the pou is a large hoanga or grindstone and the incisions within it represent the presence of humans as an integral and inseparable part of the rest of the biophysical world. It therefore serves as a powerful metaphor for this gallery, emphasising that in a Māori world view there is no distinction between “natural” or “cultural”.

Redwoods Treewalk toilets

Architectural specifier: Darryl Church Architecture Ltd
Building contractor: Burton Construction
Client: Rotorua District Council
Painting contractor: Holmac
Photographer: Graeme Murray
Screen graphics artist: Kereama Taepa

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References

https://www.resene.co.nz/total-colour-awards/14c-Redwood-Visitor-Centre-public-toilets.htm

https://www.aucklandmuseum.com/galleries/maori-galleries/te-ao-turoa-maori-natural-history-gallery