Making meaning
Have you ever wondered why the carpet in The Hub has colours woven through it like a braided river? Have you wondered about the significance of the touchstones on your left as you enter Customer Services, or the white, wing-like sculpture overhead? In a new video, Kai Tahu design consultant Simon Kaan walks us through the design features of The Hub.
Leoni Schmidt, Director Research & Postgraduate Studies, says the film is an engaging and informative watch. She showed it as part of a research presentation at an international conference in 2019.
“It’s a great bicultural resource for Otago Polytechnic.”
Simon says that The Hub is a key space for Otago Polytechnic – a place where people meet and exchange ideas.
“We’ve embedded this concept of Ara Honohono – interconnected pathways.”
Some of the special features include:
- The carpet design reflects the Ōwheo river that flowed directly under The Hub.
- Our touchstones, Māuri Kōhatu, represent three parts of our region being brought together in one place. Pounamu is a precious stone found within our rivers. Basalt represents the volcanic essence of the region, and the sandstone is from Oamaru.
- The Roimata Toroa sculpture that hangs above the Hub Atrium represents the tears of the albatross.
- The mōhiki was used to hikoi or travel through pathways. It’s an important reminder of who we are and where we may be heading.
- Outside The Hub, the Ngā Kete sculpture by alumnus Michael Tuffery represents baskets of knowledge.
Simon says that designing spaces with a bi-cultural perspective in mind takes time and collaboration, but the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive – so much so, that this kaupapa is now being used as we develop other parts of the campus.
“Te Pā Tauira works with the idea around traditional genealogy or whakapapa, the ancestors that have come before us and how that supports students coming into this place.”