Whare Māori: A thirteen part documentary series for Māori Television

From the time of the arrival of our tupuna over forty generations ago Māori have had a unique architectural history. Whare Māori is an exciting new television series dedicated to exploring this history. Delving into the stories of the people that worked together to create buildings where whanau and hapu could celebrate and worship, learn and govern. Presenter Rau Hoskins (Nga Puhi), a lecturer in Māori architecture and the director of design TRIBE architects will be our guide on this journey around the country, exploring the rich history of Māori architecture along with current and future trends. Rau has an extensive knowledge of traditional construction methods and concerns and in his own work fuses the modern with the traditional. The series will engage our audience through its grass roots approach, embracing the stories and kōrero of the people behind the buildings. We’ll talk to locals who have lived with or around the buildings, others who have had significant ties to the building through their own input or the input of their tupuna.

Each episode of the series will explore a theme that sees buildings linked by how they’re used.  The themes we will use to group buildings will include Places of Worship and Political Movements, Marae and Meeting Houses, the Places Where We Live, Places of Learning and Places of the Future. Through these themes we will cover the whole country from Bluff to Te Hapua. As a subject that has largely been ignored – until recently – this series will look at what exactly constitutes “Māori” architecture, and the common ideas that underpin many of our buildings.  It will also look at how traditional Māori design principles can be at the forefront of contemporary buildings and be part of a uniquely Aotearoa architecture. Whare Māori will be of significant historical importance, providing an overview of Māori architecture, the social conditions that contributed to this architectural development, and the personal stories that lie at the heart of every building.

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