CRITICAL COMMUNITY PRAXIS

THE OTARA PROJECT©

2009Tony Ward

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CASE STUDYTHE OTARA PROJECT

What follows is a case study in which a Community Design andDevelopment Project in Otara, New Zealand exemplifies and articulatesthe Critical Sustainability Theories outlined previously.The project wascompleted in 1994 at the University of Auckland School of Architecture.It extended over a period of 20 weeks and involved 24 Architecturestudents working alongside eight long-term unemployed youth fromOtara, one of Auckland’s poorest suburbs, populated mostly by PacificIslanders, indigenous Maori and (more recently) increasing numbers ofAsian immigrants.

This is their story.

SOCIAL CONTEXT

Otara Market

Otara is a suburb of South Auckland inhabitedpredominantly by Pacific Island and Maori people.The township is satellite to Auckland andalthough it lies adjacent to some of the wealthiestsuburbs, it comprises a swath of often-neglectedState housing clustered around an outdatedshopping centre, much tagged by the local youthwhose opposed gangs divide along ethnic linesand are modeled on the Cripps and Bloods. ofLos Angeles. Otara provided the location for therenowned New Zealand film, Once WereWarriors. Its statistics are depressing. It boaststhe highest truancy, unemployment and crimerates in the Auckland region, and has the greatestnumber of disaffected young people of any areaof New Zealand. In an attempt to improve theOtara economy, and to attract investment into thecommunity, a group of local business, civic andchurch leaders in 1993 formed Enterprise Otara- to “turn around” the social, economic andspiritual image of the town by building upon therich and colourful resources and talents of theresidents, to be witnessed at the iconic SaturdayOtara Market. An essential part of thisrevitalisation process were refurbishment andredevelopment proposals for the existingshopping centre at the heart of the community. In1994, the Community Design Studio at theDepartment of Architecture at the University ofAuckland was asked by the Manukau CityCouncil (Otara’s legislative body) to do this work. Welfare Day at the TAB

DESIGN FOR SOCIAL CHANGEThe Community Design Studio already had experience of Townrevitalisation projects, in Hamilton (pop. 70,000), Whakatane (pop. 25,000)and Highbury (pop. 25,000), working in each case as consultants to theTown Council. Excellent designs and Design Reports were produced, onlyto gather dust on the library shelves. In each case, the real social changefor which the project had been conceived by the Community Design Studiohad remained unrealised. At best, a vision and opportunities had beenopened up for further development and corporate profit, without any benefitto those for whom the programme had been intended.The Otara project was conceived differently. Given a history ofmunicipal neglect, and suspicion of tokenism, a condition was laiddown as part of the terms of engagement. The social changeespoused by the Council must be made a part of the process. TheCouncil were required to employ long-term unemployed Otara youth to workin an equal capacity alongside the University students. An agreement wasmade to employ these youth on a 1:2 ratio - that is, one unemployed youthfor every two Architecture students. Eight unemployed youth (7 men and 1woman) from the local community (Maori, Tongan, Samoan and Nueian)were employed, through government subsidised Work Training schemes.

With the twenty university students enrolled in the course, they produced a design which was justly acclaimedby the Manukau Council as well as by Enterprise Otara. The Otara members of the design team worked for24 weeks on an equal basis with the university students and, by the end of the project were producing designdrawings which were indistinguishable from students who had had two or three previous years of designtuition. At the conclusion of the project, four of the eight were accepted into tertiary education while a fifth nowworks as a member of Primitive Nature, a Pacific Island design consultancy working full-time for the AucklandCity Council. This is their story.

THE PEOPLE

Some team members. (Left to Right) Riley Letalu, Daryn Ahotolu, Paul O’Neil, Tony Ward (lecturer) Maurits Kelderman(tutor) Soli Fonoti , Marina Makani, Charlie Carlson, (project co-ordinator), Len Brown. (Manukau City Councillor). Missing isCarl XXX (who left mid-way through the project to accept an offered place at Design School).

THE SETTING

The Otara Shopping Centre (East) The Mall looking South

The Mall looking North The Otara Shopping Centre (West)

THE SHOPFRONT

One of the intended roles of the Otara “buddies” was to link the Universitystudents into the community - to facilitate community dialogue about theproject. The first step in this process was to establish a base within thecommunity itself, rather than. At the University twenty kilometres away. A localretailer donated an empty shop (rent-free) within the shopping centre mall.This was decorated by local Polytechnic students as part of their Painting andDecorating course and was opened and blessed by local kaumatua. Noticeswere displayed in the shop window in Māori, Samoan, Cook Island Māori,Nueian and Tongan, inviting residents to drop in for coffee and chat abouttheir hopes and aspirations for their community.

THE OFFICEThe interior of the Project Office was furtherdecorated by a large poster about the project, andcolourful paintings produced by local High SchoolArt students were hung on the walls - all intended tomake the place feel comfortable for the localresidents and to reflect our appreciation their culture(right). To facilitate dialogue, the team produced alarge (4.8m x 2.4m) scale model of the entireshopping centre site and its immediate surroundings(below right). A notice board, with suggestive andevocative images of the progressing design workwas placed outside the shop (below left), in thepedestrian mall, to entice passing shoppers to dropin and participate in the project.

GROUP DESIGN SESSIONSStudents and “buddies” all had regular hours of work which were logged and noted (for payment purposes).Attendance was mandatory and generally kept. Only one of the employed team members failed to regularlyattend, and it was eventually discovered that he could not read and had been too embarrassed to say. Hechose to leave the team and was replaced.

The first team task was to have each member try to draw their ideas about what ought to be done. From thestart, the “buddies” were reluctant to draw - seeing themselves compared to middle-class design students withtwo or three years prior experience. Initially, they sat and listened, but were too shy to engage indemonstrating their own perceived difficulties with graphic representation. They would talk and discuss, butthey would not draw. They left that to the more experienced of the Architecture students (below right)

FIRST ATTEMPTSThe first halting attempts at drawing by one of the “buddies” - theperspective drawing below - demonstrate a definite timidity which wasunderstandable in the context of the relative skill levels of the teammembers. But it did draw upon experiences and interests close to thehearts of the Otara members of the team - basketball. The one clearthing that they shared was a passion for basketball. It was on thisbasis, that the whole group decided to form themselves into acompetitive basketball team - The Hupas - playing other local teamsin the evenings. A basketball hoop was set up outside the shop forpractice during breaks and quiet moments.

SECRET DRAWINGSThe drawings produced by the Buddies in the class contained none of the verve and colourful -in-your-face passion ofthe graffiti and “tagging”that otherwise covered the walls of the Otara community and with which the Buddies themselveswere at least familiar and in which they were probably instrumental. Still, they soldiered on, laboriously trying to achievewhat they thought were the programme expectations regarding architectural drawing. One day, I arrived from Aucklandfor our afternoon design session at the site office. I was a little early and entered the office unexpectedly, just in time tosee one of the Buddies hiding something away under his drawing board. I asked him to show me what it was. Withobvious reluctance, he revealed a drawing that bhe had been secretly doing, of a large-breasted, bikini-clad woman setagainst a Pacifica design (below)I asked him if he was the authorand he admitted sheepishly thathe was. I asked him if herealised that none of thearchitecture students from theUniversity could draw sonaturally and so well. He saidhe didn‘t believe me.

I suggested that he ask them,and show them his drawing.Which he did, much to theamazement and admiration ofthe University students.

I asked him if there wereanother, similar drawings thathe and the other Buddies haddone. He admitted that therewere, and when prompted to doso, revealed a veritable treasuretrove of cartoon drawings thathad, until now, remainedhidden.

GRAPHIC TREASURES

CARTOON IMAGES

DETAIL &QUALITY

To give some indication of the sheerprofessionalism and detail of these images.Compare one original with its line detail. Thesureness and confidence of the line isastonishing - much greater than that achievableby the best of the architectural students.

It speaks to a very keen eye for humanobservation. The dress, the characterisation ofthe subject, the posture, the feelings andattitude of the subject that are implicit in thefolded arms, the sideways glance, thesuggestion of suspicion and possibleresentment….

And all carried out with an unself-consciousnessand delight in imagery that characterised by alack of any formal training.

The University Architectural students and theirinstructors were deeply impressed

AND THEN …BASKETBALL!

AND MORE BASKETBALLHere was the passion that we hadbeen missing! Each drawing, lovinglyconstructed to depict their humour,their frustrations (note the on-courtviolence), their testosterone. Thefemale member of the group was notpart of this outpouring.

Occasionally, their graphic talentsstarted to evoke more serious culturalimages, but always there was a depthof humour.

THE OTARA HUPASEncouraged, they formed their own competitive basketball team - The Hupas

TEAM IMAGESOnce the cat was out of the bag, nothing remained sacred or immune from the piercing Pacific Islandhumour of the Buddies as they caricatured their University team-mates! Images of the team itself began toemerge, making fun of one tutor (below left) and celebrating my own birthday (top right).

AFFECTIONThey saved their most perceptive (and fun-poking talents for the one for whom they felt the greatestaffection - Maurits, their young tutor, recently graduated, a fluent speaker of te reo Maori (and someSamoan) and a prominent Palangi (European) member of the Hupas.

COMING OUTThis profusion of graphic talent required real celebration! The drawings were at first pinned up on theoffice notice board, and then later, as they became increasingly numerous, in the shop window.

TRANSITIONSOver time - about two weeks - the drawingsbegan to change, and images specificallypertinent to the project began to emerge. Thestudents began to engage with deeper,historical images of their cultures, of ancientwarriors alongside their contemporary Hupasdescendants. All of this unsolicited!

Although the images of mencontinue to show warrior-likecharacteristics, the imagesof women begin to soften,and to take oncharacteristics and dress oftraditional P. I. cultures. Asubtle shift seems to betaking place, as the buddiesreconnect with their (morebalanced?) ancestral gendervalue and relationshipsystems

EMERGING AWARENESSFirst indications of the linking of this shift to design issues came in the preliminary sketches for the designof a fountain/monument to be included in the project. Here, the earlier warrior/testosterone laden images ofthe Hupas basketball warriors begins to transmute into specific images of a fisherman raising a net onboard his proa, and a woman pouring water from a jug .

FOUNTAIN

This emerged as the Centrepiece of their design proposals - a proposed sculpture, with waterfall, andPolynesian fishermen designed to occupy a central place in the Market

EARLY ATTEMPTSThis led to more confident attempts to come to terms with the more technical drawing that they saw theUniversity team members doing. As they gained confidence, the colour and scale of the representationsbegins to increase and become bolder - at the same time, beginning to reflect the material technologies oftraditional Pacific Island cultures, and began to image the Market itself as a centre of Polynesian Culture,drawing on iconic images and references to their cultures of origin..

(E)MERGING OF STYLESPerhaps most startling, is the emergence of an architectural style which is neither ancient normodern, and which appears to be an amalgam of differing Pacifica themes integrated into a newand dramatic whole - as in this sketch of a meeting house, aimed at exploring traditional Pacificadesign in a modern architectural context. Carl, who drew this image was soon after accepted intoDesign School at the local Polytechnic.

EMERGING SKILLSGradually, around week eight,the Buddies begin to demonstrate a new confidence in their technicaldrawing abilities. Below, we can see the contrast between Riley’s earliest drawing of the basketballcourt (left) with his later designs for a housing complex with an open Pacifica marketplace: Riley‘s Arc.He is able to adeptly shift his perspective point and use his newly-developed drawing skill to explore thedesign inside and out and to locate his building design into an existing context accurately.

RILEY‘S ARC

COLOUR SCHEMES

Towards the end of the project, as the final form of the design began to take shape, it was important that thecolours used in the development reflected the life and style of the community of users - the Pacific Islandcommunity. Daryl and Soli undertook the important task of experimenting with different colour schemes forthe exterior of the otara Shopping Centre. Mid-way through the process, Daryl got a fit of giggles. Askedwhat was funny he responded, “Six months ago I was tagging this building. Now I’m doing the colourschemes for it!”

DEVELOPMENTPLAN

While all of this has been happening, the model, too hasbeen developing, as design ideas, developed through acontinual process of drop-in community consultation.Finally, approaching the end of the project, all of thesedesign ideal are integrated into a final developmentproposal, visually displayed in both two and threedimensions.

Development Plan (above)

Model (Left)

Recreation Ctr.

Cultural Ctr

Housing

Well-Being Ctr.

THE SUSTAINABLE PROPOSALParticipatory research had clearly identified four needed facilities for a thecreation and development of sustainable Otara community. Each wasdesigned to generate employment, bring in much needed revenue,provide essential services, act as a cultural clearing-house and support.

1. A Community Centre where:• Pacific Island groups could meet for cultural, language and art classes• To create and sell there art and cultural products• To make artist-in-residencies available with scholarships for P. I youth

2. A Well-Being Centre where:• Traditional Pacifica Healing Practices might be delivered and taught• Preventative medicine nutrition, budgeting and culturally sensitive and

appropriate counseling might be available.

3. A Recreation Centre providing:• 4 competitive basketball courts able to house national competitions• A Full length swimming pool with a surge machine

4. Urban Housing with:• Affordable housing for singles and elderly built into the development, close to

shops, cultural activities, recreation and education• Short-stay affordable rental accommodation for visitors

CULTURAL CENTRE (EARLY)By week ten, and working collectively, they are beginning to develop conceptual ideas for aPacifica Cultural Centre, to be located at the heart of the redevelopment.

CULTURAL CENTRE

PLAN

WELL BEING CENTREThe design has several distinct elements. There is a Well-Being Centre, for instance, where traditionalPacific Island and Maori healing arts and remedies are practiced alongside their Western counterparts.Here, the emphasis is placed upon staying healthy, rather than curing illness.

PERSPECTIVE (Above)

The facility also offered a widerange of counseling and adviceservices:

•Budgeting,•Family Planning•Domestic Violence•Child care•Employment

All conducted in culturally appropriateways by Pacific Island professionalsand elders.PLANS

RECREATIONCENTRE

The design also includes a Recreation Centre,adjacent to the Well Being Centre andincorporating an competition swimming pooland (of course) a competitive basketball arena.The swimming pool incorporates a wave-machine, intended to bring in fee-payingcustomers from the surrounding affluentsuburbs.

RECREATION CENTRE PLANS

PERSPECTIVE

ELEVATIONS

AFFORDABLE HOUSINGThere is the development of a Residential block of one and two-bedroom apartments designed toaccommodate students studying at the adjacent Polytechnic, as well as the elderly, located at the heart ofthe community.

PACIFICA URBAN VILLAGE

The housing complex surrounds and looks onto a Pacifica Open Market Square, the centrepiece ofwhich is the sculpture seen earlier. Entrance to the Square is from the existing shopping mall and isflanked by two upper level gardens serving the resident. One of them houses a shaded park withwater features. “Riley’s Ark” is very much in evidence here!

HOUSING MODEL

THE MODELAs the final day fro presenting the design to the community approaches the entire team focuses uponcompleting the three dimensional model of the proposal

PUBLIC PRESENTATIONBy the end of the project, the drawings and the model were finished and assembled outside the office inthe centre of the Otara Mall. With the community in attendance, and the City Councillors andrepresentatives of the University of Auckland gathered around, the students made their final presentationto the Otara Community.

PUBLIC DISCUSSION

UNIVERSITYDISPLAY

Following the presentation of the proposal to theOtara Community, an exhibition of the project waspresented at the University of Auckland. The“Buddies” went on to be commissioned by theManukau City Council to develop a colour schemefor the shopping centre. As one of the Buddieswas heard to say, “ Six months ago I was taggingthis place, and now here I am doing colourschemes for it!”

THE CERTIFICATESAt the completion of the project, all of the Buddies received Certificates of Completion from theUniversity. Of the eight (previously long-term unemployed) Buddies involved in the project, fourwent on to tertiary study. While two went on to work as Pacifica Design consultants

EPILOGUE

• Karl ???? was accepted into the Manukau Polytechnic Design Scool• Daryn Ahotolu went on to accept a position in Fashion Design at a local Polytech• Soli Fonoti, Soli Tafai and Paul O’Neil, formed Primitive Nature Design Consultancy• Soli Tafai went on the teach Art at Kelston Boys Grammar School• Allan Ta‘alolo joined Manukau City in Advertising Design and Events Promotion• Both worked for the Auckland City Council designing the annual Pacifica Festival.• Marina Makani was accepted in a tertiary programme in Early Childhood Education.• Riley Letalu,was offered a place at the Auckland University School of Architecture.• He instead went to work for wages in a factory after he and his girlfriend conceived a child

• Charlie Carlson ??????• Len Brown went on to run unsuccessfully for the Mayoralty

.

SO MUCH FOR DREAMS

NEW ZEALAND HERALD, 25TH AUGUST 1994 PAGE 13

So what happened in the end to the designproposals and the vision for Otara promoted byEnterprise Otara outlined in subsequent reporting in theNew Zealand Herald (below)?

Not Much•The Recreation Centre was built,without the revenue-generating wave-machine.•The Cultural Centre was never built•The Pacifica Village was never built•The Well-Being Centre was never built•The shopping centre was given a“face-lift” in the colour schemedeveloped by the Buddies.

• Unemployment• Crime• Gang violence• Vandalism

All continue to pervade the community atunacceptably high levels.

But the people of Otara continue tosustain their remarkable cultures in theface of political deceit, fiscal neglect andmunicipal

TEN SUSTAINABILITY MYTHSMyth 1. Consultation: Consultation does not mean asking people what they want and then

making sure they get itConsultation means asking people what they want then telling them what you have already decided on their behalf.

Myth 2. Participation: Participation does not mean working with different cultural groups toward common goals to solve common problemsParticipation means inviting cultural groups to work towards solving their problems but reserving the right to ignore their conclusions

Myth 3. Partnership: Partnership does not mean that all players have equal decision making powersPartnership means that one partner has all of the power to ignore or veto decisions and conclusions reached either together or singly.

Myth 4. Equity: Equity does not mean that all groups in a working process are equal, orthat the outcome will lead to their equalityEquity means that the most powerful group will use the myth of equalityto undermine political protest, to shape outcomes and do everything inits power to retain its power. This group is predominantly white, male andmiddleclass.

Myth 5. Representation: Representation does not mean that political representatives will represent your interests to the fullest extent of their abilities.Representation means politicians will advocate your interests only whenthey are congruent with their own, and that your voice and desires will befiltered and “balanced” to ensure that you get only enough of what youwant to keep you quiet.

Myth 6. Democracy: Democracy does not mean that the voice of minority groups will be heard or that their dreams and expectations will be metDemocracy means that minority interests will always be subordinatedto the will of the majority.

Myth 7. Social Transformation: Social transformation does not mean that society will be transformedto be more equal, more caring and more satisfying.Social transformation means that dominant groups will strive continually to control all of the information and decision-making agencies to maintain the status quo.

Myth 8. Employment Creation: Employment creation does not mean that projects undertaken will create jobs in the communityEmployment creation means that employment will be created or sustained for those within State agencies who will manage processesand file reports.

Myth 9. Open Government: Open Government does not mean that you will have direct access todecision-makers or that their decisions will be transparentOpen Government means that decisions will often be made behind closed doors on the basis of undisclosed information and in the interests of private interest groups.

Myth 10. Political Fairness Political Fairness does not mean that decisions will be even-handedand that all groups will have equal access to the decision-making process.Political Fairness means that you will be seduced into believing that the system is fair in order to obviate complaints and protests when decisions are made that are unfair.

SO WHAT TO DO?One of the most frustrating experiences to be had in the field of Community Design, Community Architecture orCommunity Development is to be when one works through intermediary functionaries at City Hall - from the Mayor,down to the lowliest employee. The most successful projects are undoubtedly those that arise from the community, thatare initiated by the community and are driven, developed, monitored, evaluated and implemented by the community.Such examples are rare! Notable examples include the work of:

• The Pratt Centre for Community Development (PICCED) in New York (http://www.prattcenter.net/),• The Miami University Centre for Community Engagement in OtR (http://www.fna.muohio.edu/cce/index.html)

If you know of any further examples of Cultural Community Praxis that you would like to make public, contact:http://www.tonywardedu.com