Year: 2020 - 2021
Status: Under construction
Client: Ministry of Education
Location: Kamo, Whangārei
Type: Education
Discipline: Kaupapa Māori design (architecture, landscape architecture)

Description: Kamo High School in Whangārei caters for students in Years 9 to 13. Of the 890 students currently enrolled, 50 percent are Māori and two percent have Pacific heritage. The project involves the redevelopment of the South-West edge of the site, along Kamo Road and adjacent the sports fields. This includes the relocation of and existing relocatable building, removal of the existing whare, demolition of existing student support building, and the development of a new 2-storey classroom block, whare and courtyard.

MINISTRY has led the development of the masterplan and the design for their new buildings in association with the project design team, which includes Matakohe, Landform Consulting, Mesh Consulting, Dodd Civil Consultants, TMC Consulting Engineers, and Formable.

As hapū-appointed designers, Matakohe Architecture and Urbanism’s role within the project team has included working closely with Ngāti Kahu o Torongare to identify and record their cultural narratives, and working alongside the design team to support the interpretation of these narratives and to develop cultural landscape strategies, and to identify opportunities for cultural narratives integration, including appropriate material and colour selection, and building integrated artwork.

Our input was concentrated in a number of key areas:

Location and treatment of whare and ātea, configuration of entry procession from Wilkinson Avenue
Landscape design that references Te Kahu o Torongare’s significant landmarks and sites within the Kamo takiwā and development of a culturally relevant materials palette
Building integrated artwork - brickwork patterning, internal glazing patterns and patterning to Trespo panels above large circular columns

Construction began on this project in late 2022.