The collaboration between Chow:Hill, Gisborne District Council, Gisborne Holdings and Lardelli Arts formed the basis for a project which saw Chow:Hill undertake a thorough and well-planned briefing and user group process, which included an interactive survey and consulting process with stakeholders to arrive at the final design. Tohunga Derek Lardelli, cultural design director, Lardelli Arts, guided the cultural influences incorporated into the design, namely the dual reality of who we are; the history of the people, and the diversity of the community of the Tairāwhiti region. Awarua is shaped in the form of a waka haurua (a twin-hulled canoe), the sides of the building replicating the curves of the waka paddled here and the ships that sailed here.

Images coutesy Chow:Hill