A night out under the stars: Integrating Te Aranga and Feng Shui design principles into Auckland's heritage walk

RESEARCH QUESTION: How can Feng Shui and Te Aranga design principles be applied through ephemeral architecture in Auckland to bring together Asian, Māori and European cultures? ABSTRACT: Auckland's population is rich melting pot of cultures and ethnicities due to its history of immigration and colonisation. A society that embraces diversity can reap benefits in commercial, academic, artisic, and cultural developments and improve tolerance and world-wide open mindedness. Creative expression produced and created by different cultural approaches does exist. However, there has not been an architectural expression for it. Māori, Chinese and European culture are selected to promote and highlight their cultural diversity. The architectural design principles from these chosen cultures are utilised to work on the project itself. Feng Shui and Te Aranga design principles influence many aspects of the project. The research project covers three different layers: the past reflecting Auckland's history (site); the present reflecting the Māori festival Matariki (function); and the future, reflecting the design collaboration between Feng Shui and Te Aranga design principles (design). The project also critically reviews different architectural precedents, analysing their design process to form a design criteria that the project requires. Substantial literature review and context review explore each of the three project layers, providing a deep understanding and design decisions and influence for the design outcome. The result is a total of nine pavilion and architectural sculptures which reflected the past (Auckland's history), present (Matariki festival), and future (Feng Shui and Te Aranga collaboration). This design outcome is to explore their important history and heritage while embracing a future that is rich with cultural diversity and promotes social exchange. Different opinions and criticism regarding the project are expected since collaboration between Feng Shui and Te Aranga design principles have not been previously explored through architectural intervention. Therefore, cultural, symbolic and functional characteristics need to be compared and contrasted while developing the design