Bachelor of Architectural Studies graduate wins global essay award

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Sahil Tiku (on right) receives his award from Global Undergraduate Awards Chairman Jim Barry.

Sahil Tiku (on right) receives his award from Global Undergraduate Awards Chairman Jim Barry. Image: Matthew-Rose-Nel

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This year’s 25 global award winners.

This year’s 25 global award winners. Image: Matthew-Rose-Nel

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This image appeared on page 94 of ‘Carved Māori Houses of Western and Northern New Zealand’ by William J. Phillipps. Wellington: R.E. Owen, Government Printer (1955).

This image appeared on page 94 of ‘Carved Māori Houses of Western and Northern New Zealand’ by William J. Phillipps. Wellington: R.E. Owen, Government Printer (1955). Image: Supplied

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This image appeared on page 39 of Deirdre Brown’s ‘Māori Architecture: From fale to wharenui and beyond’. New Zealand, Raupo, The Penguin Group, (2009).

This image appeared on page 39 of Deirdre Brown’s ‘Māori Architecture: From fale to wharenui and beyond’. New Zealand, Raupo, The Penguin Group, (2009). Image: Supplied

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The case study building for Tiku’s essay – Te Whare Rūnanga at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, opened by Sir Āpirana Ngata at the Waitangi centenary.

The case study building for Tiku’s essay – Te Whare Rūnanga at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, opened by Sir Āpirana Ngata at the Waitangi centenary. Image: Sahil Tiku

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Te Whare Rūnanga – internal corner detail, showing heke (rafters), poupou (wall posts) and epa (rear wall panels).

Te Whare Rūnanga – internal corner detail, showing heke (rafters), poupou (wall posts) and epa (rear wall panels). Image: Sahil Tiku

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Te Whare Rūnanga – internal rear wall detail, highlighting some of the whakairo (carvings) and tukutuku (woven panels) making up the epa assembly.

Te Whare Rūnanga – internal rear wall detail, highlighting some of the whakairo (carvings) and tukutuku (woven panels) making up the epa assembly. Image: Sahil Tiku

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University of Auckland Waipapa Taumata Rau Bachelor of Architectural Studies graduate Sahil Tiku won the Art History and Theory award at this year’s Global Undergraduate Awards in Ireland. He received the award in Dublin on Monday 7 November.

Tiku’s essay, originally submitted to Professors Deidre Brown and Michael Milojevic when he was an undergraduate, is entitled A Renaissance of Māoritanga: Whare whakairo as novel ‘traditional’ identity.

“The paper explores the natural evolution of the wharenui and whare whakairo, its roots and ancestors, and the reasons why Western society so readily accepts it as traditional,” says Tiku. “It then explores famed Māori scholar and MP Sir Āpirana Ngata’s impact on the revitalisation of the typology throughout the 1950s and the impact his work had on modern-day perceptions of Māori building methods and typologies, including a closer look at specific historical precedent.”

Tiku’s work culminates in a case study of perhaps the most famous whare whakairo in Aotearoa, Te Whare Rūnanga at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, and looks to the future, considering new expressions of architectural identity by and for the country’s indigenous peoples.

The award-winning essay can be read here.


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