Kainga Tuatahi - Kupe Street Houses

This 2016 housing development is the first physical symbol of the reinvigoration of Ngati Whatua o Orakei. After a long struggle of ownership of Bastion Point, the Iwi has established a housing community on its 40 acres of land, 80% of which is affordable. The medium density housing has shared open spaces for playgrounds and barbecues with each house also having its own private space.

Four blocks of three storey terraced houses are designed, by Stevens Lawson Architects, to shelter from the wind, maximise sunlight, retain heat and minimise footprint. Cross-ventilation, double glazing and solar panels are included. Communal gardens and an orchard have already been planted and are tended. Though a gentle reference, the roofline is reminiscent of a Whare Nui in pitch, and a Maori togetherness comes from the grouping of several family units under the one roof.

The social side of the equation is accommodated by offering the homes to Iwi members, and the leasehold nature of the occupancy, securing landownership with the Iwi, which has suffered from generations of land loss and is fighting back. As well as the housing precinct being nearby to the Marae, it also shares Bastion Point with the Memorial to popular Prime Minister Michael Joseph Savage.

Kainga Tuatahi came at a time when Auckland was experiencing a housing crisis and has been hailed an architectural, economic and social success. For the Iwi, it is the first stage in regathering it's 5000 people and renewing it's fortunes. They own 65 Housing New Zealand units on the Orakei Estate and three more new housing developments throughout the region are planned.

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