Entries open for NUWAO design competition
Revegetated ponding systems for īnanga (whitebait) by the Ōhau River on the Kuku Waikawa coastline.
Protecting our coastal dunes, again on the Kuku Waikawa coastline.
Recreating wetland habitats on the Kuku Waikawa coastline.
Section of wetland habitat ponding system, Kuku Waikawa coastline.
Design professionals and practitioners, university students, rangatahi (youth) and the general public are invited to participate in envisioning how to develop innovative, nature-based urban design solutions, rooted in indigenous knowledge, that support climate change adaptation and individual and community wellbeing.
The competition, run by NUWAO (Nature-based Urban design for Wellbeing and Adaptation in Oceania), calls for submissions of urban design, landscape design, architecture, temporary structures, interior architecture, public infrastructure and buildings, of any scale – from a single site or structure through to a concept for an entire town or city.
“Entrants are asked to imagine a happier, healthier way of living that supports the resilience of community and our ecologies – what would that look like and how does that work?” says Associate Professor at AUT’s School of Future Environments, Dr Maibritt Pedersen Zari. AUT is one of seven organisations that support NUWAO.
“Can design help to integrate nature into urban spaces and transform them so they can evolve or regenerate socio-ecological living systems? How can we respond to societal challenges using Nature-based Solutions (NbS) together with indigenous knowledges, while acknowledging, celebrating and working with local cultural identities? How do these solutions work with the future predicted challenges we are facing? What does better living mean and how does that improve our ecologies and wellbeing in just ways? Can climate adaptation contribute to increased indigenous tino rangatiratanga (self-determination/sovereignty) and mana (pride)?”
The geographic scope for the competition is focused on urban areas of Oceania – the combined Pacific Island nations of Melanesia, Polynesia and Micronesia (Aotearoa New Zealand, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, French Polynesia, Hawaii, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Caledonia, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Rapanui, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Wallis and Futuna).
The competition, open until 18 November, comprises three categories of entry: Professional, Student, and Youth/General Public. Each category has a first prize of $1500, two runner-up prizes of $500 each and a total prize pool of $1000 for special mentions across the three categories.
From the entries received, NUWAO hopes to gain specific ideas, concepts and examples related to how to adapt Oceania’s urban centres to climate change by working with nature in empowering ways for local and/or indigenous peoples.
“This design competition will help us to understand the issues that need to be addressed in these specific urban areas of Oceania and to gauge existing understandings and approaches to the issues, while also capturing the collective imagination regarding how we might creatively adapt to climate change,” says Pedersen Zari.
To register for the competition or for more information, visit nuwao.org.nz
Details
Deadline for entries is 5pm (NZ time) on 18 November, 2022.
Winners will be announced on 8 December, 2022.
Selected works will be displayed on the NUWAO website and be exhibited online and during the NUWAO international Symposium, where a prizegiving will take place in April 2023.
Proposals must be in English or include translations to English.
There is no registration/entry fee.
