Te Rau Karamu Marae, Massey Marae
- Client Name
- Massey University
- Location
- Palmerston North, New Zealand
- Planning
- Community planning
Challenge
The Te Rau Karamu Marae opened on Massey University’s Pukeahu Campus in Te Whanganui-a-Tara in March 2021. Our Planning team in New Zealand worked closely with the project manager to successfully obtain the resource consent, by fully understanding the proposal and ensuring all the necessary information was completed to support the application. Our involvement included:
- Gaining an understanding of specific design requirements for the replacement marae buildings to ensure they provided the space needed for their intended purpose and achieve the cultural imperatives for a facility of this nature.
- Providing advice on likely consent requirements for the project.
- Liaising with the consultant team, including providing feedback on drawings and reports to ensure they meet Council requirements.
- Assisting the project architect with the preparation of a Design Statement to address District Plan design guide requirements. The wording of the Design Statement is an extremely important component of the resource consent application. The experience of our planners was vital to ensure the content of the Design Statement met Council requirements and ultimately achieved the support of the Council urban designer and planner.
Solution
A challenge for this project was the proximity of the proposed buildings to neighbouring residential properties. An assessment was provided within the resource consent application to satisfy Council that environmental effects to adjacent neighbours would be less than minor. We also assisted the project managers in consulting with the surrounding community to ensure they had an understanding of the proposal and the potential impact.
Impact
The opening of Te Rau Karamu Marae is being hailed as a significant step forward for the city central campus and for Massey’s commitment to kaupapa Māori. The project has received numerous awards, including Purple Pin Best Design Awards 2021, Toitanga Best Design Awards 2021, Wellington Architecture Awards 2022, and NZIA Interior Awards Supreme and Civic Award 2022.