Te Wananga o’ Aotearoa

This commercial project was for the Maori college, Te Wananga o Aotearoa, completion of the kitchen and cafeteria area at 5 Heriot Drive was concluded in 2010 and the budget was $120,000.

This project called for a degree of careful planning, the money is tight as the college is partly government funded so all spending is carefully considered.  Re-using existing joinery and equipment where possible was a must, which meant considerable involvement in procurement and planning.

Materials had to be chosen as much for their robust qualities, as for any other, but I was able to play with the colour and form. It was important to open the whole space up and create zones, food store in one zone, chilled store and dry store, servery zone, wash and dry zone, cooking zone, office and coffee station.

The next factor considered within the design was the variation in need of the private and public areas. Members of the faculty and student population need to have access to certain areas, but there are zones where security is a necessary consideration such as the servery where money is kept, the food storage area and the office.

The colours chosen reflect subjects taught at the school, Raranga (weaving), Rongoaa Maori (Maori Medicine), Whakairo (carving), Rauangi (multimedia arts) and forest harvesting to name but a few.