Description:

Common Ground is a response to a visceral feeling of concern for our world, advocating for heightened care towards the land, its people, and the future. Rooted in the turmoil of land management in Tairawhiti, the research underpinning Common Ground suggests that when environmental knowledge is depleted, unsustainable practice ensues. The scheme aims to reverse this trend by reinvigorating vernacular knowledge in a tacit, hands-on manner, where spending time on the land is imperative. It asks, “if historic mistakes have led to the current environmental damage in Tairāwhiti, what process of healing must be undertaken as a remedy?”

This project speculates on a different 'knowledge architecture' for a world grappling with environmental disaster. The outcome is a 'forum for vernacular environmental knowledge': a regional touchpoint fostering the generation and proliferation of ideas. It aims to weave diverse knowledge strands together in a simplified, immersive space, seeking to strengthen the bond between people and land.

The design diverges from traditional strategies of addressing knowledge and learning, seeking to disperse it rather than contain it. There is no library, no expansive archive collection: the occupants are the holders of the knowledge, and they leave with the knowledge they gain. The proposal is equally as focused on the movement of ideas as it is the movement of people: multiple programmes intertwine within the bounds of the building - greenhouse, woolshed, timber mill, butchery, workshop, wharekai and events space. In a way, these varied activities work as a continuum rather than as discrete events, aided by the plan which delineates a spatial sequence based on the steps of knowledge creation. The entrance – a greenhouse gallery – offers a moment of grounding, while the integration of the existing century-old woolshed into the building’s fabric and the creation of a corresponding 'plant shed' embodies the scheme’s holistic approach. An ‘elemental workshop’ and conversation chamber offer spaces for learning through making and talking respectively, with each fuelling the other to create a self-perpetuating knowledge ecosystem.

Common Ground advocates for an authentic, holistic sustainability. It is made of humble materials from the site, crafted beautifully to prove a point: the land has what we need, if we know how to use it. In an era of global division, this project seeks unity, embracing both Māori and Pākehā perspectives sincerely and without compromise. It explores navigating climate change without cultural loss, posing questions without imposing answers. Architecture is positioned as a conduit for discussion rather than a panacea. The scheme pushes architecture beyond the physical space, asking for a restructure of the architecture of contemporary knowledge itself.