Te Ara o Tākitimu Design | Te Pae Hono

Tirohanga Whānui | Overview

Te Pae Hono is a permanent environmental graphic installation created as part of EIT's post-Cyclone Gabrielle campus redevelopment for the Māori, Pacific and Disability Support Centre in Hawke's Bay. Developed in collaboration with mana whenua, Pacific representatives, Te Kura i Awarua Māori Rangahau Research Centre, architects and EIT staff, the project explores the shared whakapapa, pūrākau and histories of Te Moananui-a-Kiwa through contemporary environmental graphic design.

The installation follows the journey of the sacred waka Takitimu, tracing its evolution from Upolu, Samoa, through Te Moananui-a-Kiwa and eventually to Aotearoa. Rather than presenting the story as a single narrative, the project acknowledges the many communities, languages and histories that continue to carry this pūrākau today.

Te Kaupapa | The Purpose

At the heart of Te Pae Hono was a simple question.

How can we deepen our understanding of the stories we've inherited without changing the stories themselves?

Throughout Te Ao Māori and Te Moananui-a-Kiwa, many of our pūrākau have travelled alongside our ancestors for generations. While the foundations remain the same, every iwi, island and community remembers them through their own dialect, environment and lived experience.

This project was never about replacing those narratives or offering a "new version" of them.

Instead, it sought to return to the places where these stories were first told, exploring them through the languages, symbolism and cultural contexts from which they originated. By stepping outside my own lens and into the lens of the environment where each part of the journey unfolded, familiar pūrākau began revealing new layers of understanding.

This philosophy became the foundation of every design decision.

Rangahau | Research

The design process began with research.

Over many months, knowledge was gathered through kanohi ki te kanohi interviews, wānanga, Māori Land Court records, family archives, whakapapa, Pacific historical sources and knowledge generously passed down by kaumātua, rangatira and Pacific knowledge holders.

The project also drew upon discussions held with mana whenua, Pacific representatives, Te Kura i Awarua Māori Rangahau Research Centre and EIT staff throughout the design process. Together these conversations shaped both the kaupapa and the visual language of the installation.

One principle remained constant throughout the research.

There is rarely one "correct" version of a pūrākau.

Different communities retain different moments, teachings and perspectives, each contributing another layer of understanding rather than contradicting one another. The intention was to honour those differences and demonstrate how our shared histories become richer when viewed collectively.

Tukanga Hoahoa | Design Process

During the early design workshops, the concept of tapa emerged as the visual foundation for the project.

Across Te Moananui-a-Kiwa, tapa has long been used to record genealogy, significant events, cultural knowledge and histories through symbolic pattern. Rather than treating these motifs as decoration, the installation uses them as a visual language, allowing the walls themselves to tell the journey of Takitimu.

Each panel represents a different stage in the waka's journey.

As the narrative moves from Samoa, Tonga and Fiji through Tahiti, Rarotonga and eventually to Aotearoa, the visual language changes alongside it. Motifs are drawn from the countries in which each part of the pūrākau takes place, allowing the story to be experienced through the artistic traditions, symbolism and dialects of those places rather than through a single contemporary Māori lens.

Every motif was intentionally selected to reflect the people, place and cultural context of that particular stage of the voyage. Together, the panels create a visual narrative that can be read from beginning to end, inviting viewers to discover the shared histories that connect the peoples of Te Moananui-a-Kiwa.

Putanga | Outcome

The completed installation transforms the entrance to Te Pae Hono into a place of welcome, learning and connection. As part of EIT's post-Cyclone Gabrielle redevelopment, the project contributes to a renewed campus that reflects the identity, histories and aspirations of the communities it serves.

Students, staff and visitors are invited to experience the journey of Takitimu through whakapapa, symbolism and visual storytelling, while recognising the enduring relationships that connect the peoples of Te Moananui-a-Kiwa.

Alongside the installation, a comprehensive research manuscript was produced documenting the whakapapa, pūrākau and cultural significance behind every motif, ensuring the knowledge continues beyond the physical artwork and remains available for future generations.

For me, Te Pae Hono represents the intersection of research, storytelling and design. It demonstrates how environmental graphics can become more than a visual intervention, they can become a vessel for preserving knowledge, celebrating identity and strengthening connections between people, place and whakapapa.

It was never simply about designing a wall.

It was about creating a space where culture is experienced rather than observed, where design becomes a vessel for sharing mātauranga, and where the stories of our ancestors continue to guide future generations.