Constructed landscape with lightweight architecture from Micro-urbanism: the Maori pā and architecture as a generative landscape by Amanda Yates

What resonated most is a series of Maori design principles shared by Amanda Yates and Shaun Awatere:

1. Kotahitanga – Cohesion and collaboration. Collective cooperative and effective partnerships and collaboration with community.
2. Wairuatanga – Embedded emotion and spirit.  
   Everything should support our spiritual well being and consciousness. Emotional connection with the environment that links people.
3. Manaakitanga – Hospitality and security.
   Embracing and welcoming visitors, and protection and security of community.
4. Whanaugatanga – Participation and membership in the community and social setting
5. Kaitiakitanga – Sustainable resource management. Protection of significant landscape features and natural enviornment.
6. Rangatiratanga – Leadership, identity, self-determination. Community can lead and take responsibility for creating and determining their own future.
7. Matauranga – Knowledge and understanding. Understanding of community history, identities, character.
8. Orangatanga – Maintain health and well being
9. Mauritanga – Essence or life-force of a natural environment. To identify and promote the maintenance or restoration of a mauri (the life force which all objects contain). e.g. rain-tank collection systems, grey-water recycling systems, passive solar design.

In addition to enjoying the presentations, this was the first event I attended with the Livescribe, an amazing pen/paper system that records notes as you take them and allows you to play them back. Both the presentations and my full notes with audio are available online:

• Amanda Yates, registered architect and academic: Micro-urbanism: the Maori pā and architecture as a generative landscape PDF, Livescribe pencast
• Shaun Awatere (Ngati Porou) is a resource economist: Developing Maori urban design principles PDF, Livescribe pencast
• Wiki Walker, Ngati Hine, Manukau City Council Environmental Policy Planner (tangata whenua): Tangata Whenua and the landscape PDF, Livescribe pencast
• Ngarimu Blair, is a Trustee on the Ngati Whatua o Orakei Maori Trust Board: Orakei papakainga PDF, Livescribe pencast

Further reading: Ngā hua papakāinga: Habitation design principles by Shadrach Rolleston and Shaun Awatere

Last weekend I stumbled on Helvetiki, this witty marriage of the ubiquitous hei-tiki of New Zealand and Helvetica of the world by Matthew Moriarty at Crawlspace gallery. Created in 2007, the 50th anniversary of the type face Helvetica and the release year of the Helvetica film that looks at the larger conversation about the way type affects our lives, Helvetiki had me wondering what is New Zealand type?

I could point you to the magnificent type specimens from Kris Sowersby and Joseph Churchward, and note that New Zealand type often looks like it’s subtly growing, organic, alive, like koru unfolding. And I’m excited to learn more at the Printing Types: New Zealand Type Design since 1870 exhibition (at Objectspace in Auckland 25 July – 12 September 2009) curated by Jonty Valentine to “remedy the invisibility of type in New Zealand,” featuring work by Joseph Churchward, Robert Coupland Harding, Tom Elliott, Mark Geard, Maarten Ideema, Narrow Gauge, Warren Olds, Bruce Rotherham, Shabnam Shiwan, Kris Sowersby, Luke Wood, and Jack Yan.

Today marks the 40th anniversary of man’s landing on the moon, and I keep having flashbacks. Not to July 20, 1968 — I wasn’t born yet — to October 17, 2008, when I helped bring the Apollo 13 crew safely back to Earth. At least fictionally.

Generally, I don’t have a great rap as a theatre date. Except to the people waiting outside for a chance to take over my seat at intermission. All too often I’m painfully aware I’m in a cramped coach seat watching characters wrapped up in a drama I couldn’t care less about. But Apollo 13: Mission Control hooked me before I even entered the theatre.

Outside, a replica of the Saturn V rocket commanded our attention, and as we queued awaiting the doors to open, the astronauts descended the staircase and entered the capsule before our very eyes. We cheered them on then entered the theatre control room.

Instead of rows, we had consoles. Where we chose to sit determined our roles. I was in charge of boosters, my date manned monitor 17. Each one was a masterpiece of fiddly controls and blinking lights, monitors we could switch between feeds of the astronauts and instruments.

Apollo 13 was intended to be the third mission to carry humans to the surface of the Moon, but an explosion of one of the oxygen tanks and resulting damage to other systems resulted in the mission being aborted before the planned lunar landing could take place. (Thanks, NASA.) In this version, it’s up to us to safely return the crew to Earth.

I had only been in New Zealand a couple of months when I saw Apollo 13, but sitting at the console in Mission Control, I felt like I was back in the United States. The U.S. of inspiring dreams, the home of the brave and land of the free, the best and the brightest. Not the October 2008 U.S. of economic collapse, “enhanced interrogation,” and Sarah Palin as quite possibly the next Vice President.

Perhaps this could only be created by outsiders – New Zealanders Kip Chapman and Brad Knewstubb, inspired by a replica control room used for the Apollo 8 mission in 1968 at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Chapman told the New Zealand Herald, “We were worried about that because who are we to tell the story? But it’s such an interesting story and a universal story of survival so why shouldn’t we tell it?”

I’m so glad they did. The accents, haircuts and details were spot on. The sweat, the adrenaline, the excitement – so real. The only sweet giveaway that we were not in Houston was the big map with New Zealand in the center instead of, well, cropped off the right edge.

Apollo 13: mission Control stands out for originality, creativity and geeky passion. By far the most fun I’ve had in a theatre in years. It won’t be long before you can see it in the U.S. – they need it over there! In the meantime, people of Hamilton and Auckland, New Zealand, – don’t miss “Apollo 13: Mission Control“

Hamilton:
July 20 – 26, 8pm
The Meteor, Hamilton
Bookings TicketDirect
Auckland:
July 31 – August 15 (no shows Sunday and Monday)
Lower NZI Theatre, Aotea Centre, The Edge, Auckland
Bookings TicketDirect

Antipodes map by Daryl Cockburn.