Description:

For decades, there has been a distinctive disconnect between the Samoan government and Samoan communities. Governance problems have led to misunderstanding, alienation and frustration across Samoa. Rather than understanding the underlying principles and traditions of fa’asamoa and fa’amatai, focus has instead been placed on procedures and institutional principles, benefitting the private sector.

With the opportunity to design a government building, in the village context of Utulaelae (Upolu, Samoa), there is strong potential for re-engagement with traditional values and established political thought, in which there is respect for the value of tausi le va nonofo (maintaining a relationship between two sides).

Set in the year 2070, Tapestries of Mulivaifagatola serves as a future home for the Legislature branch of the Samoan government that combines a Fono (meeting house) for Matai (chief) discourse, woven into offices for the Savali Newspaper as well community archival spaces that adapt for potential climate emergencies.

The archival room accommodates a place of crafting tapestries and artworks created by local people. Attached by rope, these tapestries are raised into the high ceiling. The fabric would become the canvas for light projections showing cultural mappings, constellations and artefacts, forming a hybridised archive. The performance of projections and raised tapestries supports the community's realignment with the notion of the ‘domed sky’ of a Fale, where the roof represents the constellations and the horizon.

The river’s inland connection acknowledges pre-western settlements in Samoa, that were predominantly located away from the shoreline. This focus on moving inland as a source of rekindling tradition aligns with the current experience of Samoan people, who are relocating to higher ground; due to the impact of climate change. With this spatial response, the proposal reflects the sentiment of the year 2070, where relocation to elevated ground would be the only option against rising sea levels.

“....One walks backwards into the future with the past firmly in sight” Epeli Hau’Ofa, the novelist.

With this notion by Epeli, the response combines the values of tausi le va nonofo and spatial ideas of va with the environmental design strategies in response to a changing climate. The proposal prepares the future by addressing the issues of today, while being supported by Samoan value and tradition.