The Nohonga (seat) design challenge is a new collaboration between Brick Bay and the Auckland Branch of the New Zealand Institute of Landscape Architects Tuia Pito Ora who are challenging students and all levels of graduated landscape architects to design and construct creative nohonga for the citizens of Tāmaki Makaurau.
The seat is currently installed in Britomart and will be moved to the Brick Bay sculpture trail outdoor gallery in 2021 for a 12 month installation.
LandLAB proudly sponsored Bela Grimsdale, Luke Veldhuizen and Sam Gould’s winning entry - Te Whakatōhenehene ‘The Disruption’ which explores the relationship between Ranginui (sky father) and Papatūānuku (earth mother). After the seperation of Ranginui and Papatūānuku by their child Tānemahuta (god of forests) their youngest child Rūaumoko (god of earthquakes and volcanoes) was left in his mother’s belly to warm and comfort her.
The rain and mist we experience is Ranginui’s grief at being separated from Papatūānuku and their unborn child Rūaumoko. This upsets Rūaumoko and with his fiery nature he erupts, with his marks remaining as permanent striations on the land. In an endless cycle as Rūaumoko pushes up the earth in anger, the tears of Ranginui’s sorrow erode the earth back to the land.
The design of this nohonga references the idea of raw, red earth being forced skyward and shaped by the dynamic forces of nature. Pushed and pulled both subtly and with ingenuity, our seat is crystalised in its final form, revealing a blend of our minds, our hearts, wild nature, and the hand of mankind.
