Karanga-ā-Hape the name is the place of the calling of Hape, CRL says, "named after Hape who was left behind when the great waka Tainui left Hawaii'iki."
Rau Hoskins of Ngāti Hau and Ngāpuhi is CRL's cultural architecture adviser and tells of the background to the naming of that station, to be developed along with the new Aotea Station on Albert St but to have entrances of Wellesley St and Victoria St.
"Hape journeyed on the kaitiaki, the stingray, ahead of the Tainui waka so Karanga-ā-Hape is said to celebrate the welcome of his own relatives who had denied him passage. But he was there to welcome them," Hoskins says.
Chris Jack, CRL consultant architect from Jasmax, tells of how the design of the new station relates to Te Ao Māori, particularly with the planned use of natural timbers.
The threshold of the station will link to "arching forms of ancient kauri forests", Jack says.
Hiro Potini of Ngāti Tamaoho is the mana whenua design forum representative and tells how the connection had influenced design.
"Once we got a clear picture and the CRL team understood our kaitiaki obligations, then the conversation shifts to the design narratives. We can share those deeper stories that you don't get anywhere else in the country, let alone the world," Potini says.
The video notes "Auckland is the largest Māori and Polynesian city in the world. These cultures along with many others are a key part of what makes the city unique."
The Mercury Lane entrance is designed to evoke the branching arms of the vast spreading canopies of kauri trees, radiating from massive trunks.
"The entrance provides a dramatic sense of relief via a series of large climbing patterns that are revealed as commuters pass through the space towards the entrance. The overall experience is one of rising from, and descent into, the earth. It is proposed that light and sound will be used to enhance the experience of the entrance space," CRL says.
"The Māori creation story has influenced the CRL station entrances, each telling the story of Ranginui, the sky father, and Papatuanuku, the earth mother. Their close embrace was separated by their son, Tane Mahuta, who in pushing them apart to bring light (te whaiao) into the world and, the state of creation into being (Te Ao Mārama)," CRL said.
