The MAUNGA Pacific Architectural Collective was established in order to :
FOSTER Promote Architecture and its inclusion in low economic areas,
SUSTAIN Create quality & awareness of Pacific architecture in university,
&
EXTEND Establish a network between the professional field and students
Relationships to our Pacific brothers & sisters who are working in the field of architecture.
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MAUNGA was born out of the conversation about pacific influence in New Zealand architecture and the need to bridge the disconnect between the Pacific community and the architecture world.
If there are over 3500 Pacific students studying at the University of Auckland this year (2016), then why are there only 19 currently studying in the Architecture programme? That’s a little over 3% of the architectural student body across the 5 years which means that there are on average only 4 Pacific students in each year level.
These numbers strongly correlate with what is happening out in the working profession.
We are clearly being underrepresented in a field which deals with the issues specifically affecting our community.
There needs to be a better understanding on a community level of what architecture is about; making it a more viable profession for Pacific people. A lot of our decisions are made around family and community making it important to have that support and understanding in place for prospective students. Creating an understanding within in the community is essential to making architecture inclusive.
Part of this inclusion is having more of a Pacific presence in the institution, not only seen in the student body but also represented in the staff and the work itself. We don’t see enough recognition of our Pacific students because they may be reluctant to put themselves forward and don’t see pursuing academia as attainable.
Not only is this difficult at university level but the pursuit of a career becomes a daunting task when faced with a real lack of relatable role models, which isn’t to say that they don’t exist but that they aren’t visible. Visibility is key in creating a Pacific presence in the working environment where the opportunity to give back to the community is available.
As students of architecture who have experienced these things and are about to enter the work environment, we feel the need and the responsibility to do something in order to bridge these gaps. In response we; Miriama Arnold, Matilda Phillips, Icao Tiseli, and Lusitania Vete have founded MAUNGA Pacific Architectural collective.
