National Treasure on the Verge of Extinction

For 1000 years, the graceful kauri tree has stood as a reminder of our primordial past. Also, it is a beloved symbol for Aucklanders of the wild west coast, nestled in Cascade Park within the Waitākere Ranges. Now sadly, all that history and grace has ended. The mighty tree succumbed to kauri dieback.

Humans are the main culprit for spreading dieback with movement of contaminated soil spreading the disease through the ranges. Wild pigs are also thought to be responsible for the spread.

What is Kauri dieback? It is believed that a pathogen called Phytophthora agathidicida (which was only discovered back in 2009) is the one to blame. This sneaky little pathogen can sense a kauri tree’s roots, and swim towards them using a tail-like flagella.

Unfortunately, there is no cure for kauri dieback, and the disease kills most if not all the kauri it infects. It can be spread by just a pinhead of soil. Most of the time, we cannot tell by looking whether a tree is infected or not. Kauri dieback is threatening kauri with functional extinction.

As a result of the Kauri tree dieback, local councils imposed a rāhui - or temporary ban - on affected areas late last year. This fell short of indicating any long-term solution to combating kauri dieback.

We had the privilege to visit the Arataki visitor centre two weeks ago. The weather was absolutely remarkable and the view to the forest was beyond words. We were inducted by the site manger of the brief history of the site and, of course, the solutions of preventing further damage to our precious forests species. After a one hour site visit of the visitor centre and the surrounding tracks (some of them have the rāhui, so we could not walk through), I gathered a fair idea of the exterior, interior and the general layout of the building. I have a huge amount of work and research ahead of me regarding the Arataki project. How do I allow local residents and tourists to view our beautiful forests without compromising the damage to our Kauri? How can the site become more appealing to the public with the development of the design? Is it possible to provide hospitality like accommodation and eateries so more non-rate paying revenue is generated? What if it has larger kids educational and play zones? How do I institute my design concept from my studio work into the Arataki project?

Meanwhile, I will just go home and digest all the visual and verbal information that I absorbed on that day. Frank Lloyd Wright once said, “the building should bring charm to its surrounding”. In the present day, more architects believe that buildings and their environments should define each other and should always palpitate together. The key idea in regards to designing the Arataki building as a spatial designer is, how to merge the building to its charming surrounding of the forest.

Anyway, time for bed. For whatever reason, I always get into a writing mood late at night. I hope you happy campers are having an awesome Easter break and are going hard out on chocolate as I am.

Good night!

Michelle X