Nicholas Dalton
MĀORI VALUES GUIDE THE SOCIALLY ENGAGED, UNIQUELY MINDFUL WORK OF AOTEAROA’S TOA ARCHITECTS
Raised in a bicultural household in Rotorua, located in the Bay of Plenty region of the upper North Island of Aotearoa (the Māori name for New Zealand), architect Nicholas Dalton (Ngāti Whakaue, Te Arawa, Ngāi Tūhoe, Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Whakaue, Ngāti Pikiao, Pakehā) grew up surrounded by Indigenous Polynesian culture. However, “when I started practising in 2004,” he says, “there was no Māori design in the firm I was working for.” Dissatisfied with this lack of visibility within the field, Dalton founded his own studio, TOA Architects, in 2010. Today, he has a growing team under his direction and an impressive portfolio to match, although he stresses that the TOA kaupapa (initiative) is a collective one. “It’s not just my voice,” Dalton says. “It started as my vision, but I [now] have this tidal wave of support behind me.”
Ranging from the award-winning multi-unit Aria Apartments to Mahitahi Kāinga, a nearly complete social-housing project that champions Māori approaches to mental health support,
TOA’S work is both socially oriented and culturally grounded, with a strong desire to make a difference for the community. “Architecture is not about bricks and mortar,” Dalton says. “It’s about the process and what outcomes can be created from really mindful design.”
Maungārongo, a lauded recent residence in the coastal city of Tauranga, is reflective of this philosophy. From the echoes of Mauao (Mount Maunganui) in the building’s form to the facade’s timber battens referencing the palisades of the historic fortified village Ōtūmoetai Pā, the structure incorporates a wealth of mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge), giving expression to traditional concepts and narratives through contemporary architecture. “The house is born from the pūrākau [ancestral stories] of that whenua [land],” Dalton explains.
He also emphasizes the importance of working collaboratively with other Māori practitioners while uplifting the culture and its visibility through design. “There’s a sense of urgency to what we do in the next five to 10 years in terms of supporting the nation to become more Māori,” he says. “I think that, with the built environment, we have the opportunity to create spaces where te reo [language] and tikanga [customs] are celebrated and lived.” _JADE KAKE