Te Oho o ‘Te Tihi’ – The Awakening of ‘Te Tihi’

Aurecon sought a workplace design that would deliver on their purpose of ‘Bringing Ideas to Life’, to imagine and co-create with their clients a better future for people and the planet. Aurecon engages and collaborates with iwi (tribes) and Māori (Indigenous people) to ensure their work contributes to an Aotearoa New Zealand that is diverse and recognises cultural identity. The project aims to create a working environment where Te Ao Māori (Māori world view) is valued, visible and embedded into their organisational culture.

The project initiation began with hosting cultural visioning workshops alongside members of Aurecon’s He Rautaki Māori rōpū, to ensure the project would connect with people and place. This process evolved into a collaboration with local iwi Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, to discover co-design opportunities within the project and to personify Aurecon and co-create the project’s narrative.

The creative outcome of the workshops was the persona of ‘The Curious Adventurer’, weaving together the inquisitive and innovative approach that Aurecon bring to their work and acknowledging the original migration and settlement of Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland from the waka (canoes) that landed centuries ago.

Furniture: Aspect, Vitra, Simon James, Harrows, Fletcher Design. Lighting: Energylight, Inlite, Thorn, Brightlight, Finishes, Inzide, Tile Warehouse, Vidaspace, IBS, Resene, Critical, Kube Contract, Maxwell Rodgers. Fittings & Fixtures: Red Stag, Lundia, Outside In.

Photography: Hamish Melville