Best of the Best Designers Speak® - Video - Beca Architects & Rangi Kipa

The Best Design Awards are a major feature of the local design calendar and some of last year's winners have toured the country to offer first-hand insights into their projects. 

The 2021 series was recorded on video. Here is one from the series of twenty recorded.

Te Hono - New Plymouth Airport Terminal
Campbell Craig and Rangi Kipa
Beca Architects

The importance of civic spaces that properly represent their constituents is undeniable. In this presentation, Rangi Kipa and Campbell Craig spoke about the history and design process that led to Te Hono - New Plymouth Airport Terminal, where they tried to represent and highlight the local hapu, a community that, according to Rangi “had been made invisible in their own environment.” Yet, beyond using cultural motifs as an afterthought, the design team discussed how they sought to weave it into the very fabric of the architecture - including the creation story of Tamarau and Rongo-u-eroa. Beca architects also discussed succinct learnings from the process to ensure a fruitful collaboration between designer and iwi.

According to Rangi: “this is a world that has been imported on us”,  and these types of projects can have lasting effects on communities “to make them visible in their own landscapes and restore their wellbeing.”

Rangi Kipa and Campbell Craig

Supported by 

DINZ Interviews

When the opportunity arises, DINZ interviews leading designers from here and overseas. These interviews seek to dig beneath the surface to address the common and uncommon challenges, problems and opportunities the design community faces.