Professor of architecture Derek Kawiti visits post-quake Christchurch to see if the rebuild of Aotearoa’s most quintessentially English city has shaken off its colonial past and embraced Ōtautahi’s rich Māori heritage.
For many Māori living in the Garden City, they had no attachment to any of the buildings and structures before the 2011 earthquake.
Like Puamiria Parata-Goodall - Te Pae Narrative adviser and director of Te Paku Limited - who said her city had no cultural links to her or her whānau.
She said: “I was not present in my landscape.”
The eight-part series The Drawing Board examines the past and present, and what future architectural designs in Aotearoa might look like.
Hosted by Kawiti (Ngāti Hine, Ngāpuhi, Tūhoe, Ngāti Porou), a professor of architecture at Victoria University of Wellington, he leads viewers on a journey of exploration, visiting construction sites and completed buildings.
See the full episodes on Whakaata Māori, airing Mondays at 7.30pm, or head to Māori+ or watch on demand.