Fifteenth International Conference on Environmental, Cultural, Economic & Social Sustainability

Abstract

Aotearoa/New Zealand’s offshore and outlying islands have long been a focus for ecological conservation and restoration as sites of local endemism and as the last refuges for many species. For the indigenous Maori culture of Aoteaora/New Zealand, offshore islands are deeply linked with storytelling, food sourcing, and establishment of settlements that reflected traditional ways of living. With European colonisation, Maori tribes were secluded from these islands resulting in loss of biodiversity with introduction of non-native flora and fauna and a building infrastructure that disregarded the cultural past. However, due to the close proximity to the mainland, offshore islands have the unique potential to become valuable spaces where native ecosystems and cultural diversity are celebrated, concurrently providing distinctive opportunities for visitors to reconnect with the landscape. In the context of this study, Matiu is Wellington’s largest harbour island in the Capital City of Aotearoa/New Zealand. For centuries, Maori tribes occupied Matiu, establishing settlement sites and using them for defence and communication. Using experimental design-led research methods, this paper develops speculative landscape architectural schemes that bring forth the ecological, cultural, and historical significance of Matiu island to Maori tribes. The schemes are framed by some of the spatial attributes of resilience such as diversity, complexity, redundancy, interconnectivity and adaptability. Collectively, the work reveals design strategies that have the potential to rebuild the island’s ecologies through a wide range of spaces organised in cultural journeys that enhance significant narratives and bring together the community in intergenerational activities.