Ngāpuhi architect and AUT Senior lecturer, Jade Kake, has recently completed her register to become a registered Architect, completely in te reo Māori.
She is one of only very few Māori in the architectural space and says writing her register in Māori was a challenge worth taking on.
Despite growing up in Australia she says her love for the Māori language grew as she studied at Te Wānanga Takiura in Auckland.
“Nā taku haerenga ki te wānanga takiura i whakatipu te aroha ki te reo i roto i a au. Nā konā, i whakaaro au, e hiahia ana ahau ki te whakawhānui i taku ao, whakawhānui i te whakamahi o te reo i roto i tō mātou ahumahi hoahoanga. Nā konā, he wero pai.”
What does it take to be an architect?
To become an architect in Aotearoa, one must have a minimum of a Masters qualification and must go through the registration process.
The process includes a body of work for the New Zealand Registered Architects’ Board.
Jade says her decision to become an architect began as a child returning to Aotearoa from Australia alongside her Koroua.
“I hoki atu au ki tōna taha, ki te kāinga, ki te noho i waenganui i te whānau. I kite au i te whenua Māori, i kite au i te noho o te whānau i roto i ngā whare āhua kino. Ko ōku whakaaro i aua wā, tērā pea, ka taea e au te hāpai.”
Māori in the industry
Māori within the architect industry in Aotearoa is growing, however, still only a small number of Māori are registered architects.
Firms such as TOA Architecture, Kake’s own Matakohe Architecture and Urbanism, and Jasmax are a few of the Māori owned or kaupapa Māori-centric architectural firms in the country.
Across the country, Kake says approximately only 3.5% of all registered architects in Aotearoa are Māori.
However, she believes that by completing her registration in Māori, more tamariki Māori may pursue architecture as a career.
“Mēnā, ka taea e au te mahi pēnā, tērā pea, ka kite ngā raukura mai i te wharekura i a au, mēnā e ako ia hei pakeke, i ako au mai i te wā i ahau e pēpi ana, ka taea e au.”
Tirohanga Māori
Ahakoa te tokoiti o ngā kaihoahoa Māori e mahi nei i tēnei wā, he ao tēnei kua roa e mahia ana e te iwi Māori.
Hai tā Kake, ki tā te Māori titiro ko ngā mahi toi, mahi whakairo, mahi tā moko ētahi momo o te kaihoahoa.
Ka mutu, ko tāna i kī ai, he wāhi tō te Māori ki te whakawhirinaki i ngā āhuatanga Pākehā, hai hāpai ake i a Ngāi Māori i roto i ēnei mahi hoahoanga.
“He rerekē te mahi hoahoanga ā te Māori ki te mahi hoahoanga ā te Pākehā. Heoi, tērā pea ka taea e tātou te whakawhiri i ēnei mea e rua, ētahi mea pai mai i te tirohanga Pākehā, tērā ahumahi Pākehā, me te mahi Māori.”
Te anamata o ngā mahi hoahoanga
Nō te tau kua hipa, i mana rā te tohu i a Kake hai kaihoahoa whare, ka mutu, ko te whakamahere i ngā papakāinga, marae, kura, papatākaro hoki ētahi o āna tino mahi ki Whangārei.
Heoi anō, hai tāna ko tāna e whai nei i tēnei wā, ko tana tohu kairangi, me te aha, kai te waihangatia e ia tētahi papakupu hoahoanga, hai tautoko i te āpōpōtanga o tēnei ahumahi.
Hai tāna, he wero nui anō te waihanga papakupu hoahoanga, heoi anō, me mahi ka tika e ora ai te reo Māori i roto i tōna ao.
“Mēnā ka mahi koe i tēnei ao, hei kaihoahoa whare, me mōhio ki ngā kupu Pākehā katoa. Mēnā e hiahia ana koe ki te mahi i te reo Māori me whakamāori te katoa. Heoi, mēnā e hiahia ana koe ki te kōrero ki tētahi tohunga whakairo, he rerekē ngā kupu. Me mōhio ērā atu mea.”
