Ana Heremaia (Ngāpuhi) is an interior architect and a co-founder of ĀKAU, a multi-disciplinary, not-for-profit design studio. After years working overseas, Ana returned home to explore how design can be used to create impact in small communities in Te Taitokerau. She is passionate about engaging tamariki and whānau in the design process and finding innovative ways to create tangible outcomes in communities where funding for design projects is limited.

What’s one of your favourite interior spaces, either here in Aotearoa or overseas, that’s inspired you or your design thinking?

Kohewhata Marae in Kaikohe, Te Taitokerau, holds a significant place in my design haerenga. The tukutuku panels in particular, designed and crafted by the late Toi Te Rito Maihi, have been a profound inspiration. Moving to Te Tai Tokerau almost a decade ago, I had the privilege of sitting with Toi, while she helped me with some of the elements of the first kākahu I made. She shared her whakaaro behind some of these works and the lessons learned from the process. Her constant challenge to conventional approaches while respecting the mana of the kaupapa, materials and whakapapa of mahitoi continues to influence my thinking.

If you could design an interior project for anyone, who would it be and why?

If I could design an interior project for anyone, it would always be designing ‘with’ rather than ‘for’. I find joy in supporting hapori members, particularly our mokopuna, to voice their ideas and bring them to life. One of these projects involved empowering a taitamariki designer in 2020 to address community concerns about Kaikohe feeling too dark. Her kaupapa – a temporary immersive light experience – celebrated Matariki and Puanga, rooted in te Ao Māori. The growing success of this initiative, set to illuminate Te Tou Rangatira for the Waitangi commemorations next week, Whatu Marama, epitomises the joy of design through the creativity of tamariki.

What are you looking forward to while judging the Interior Awards 2024?

I’m looking forward to experiencing sparks of harikoa – surprises brought by innovative designs. I’m particularly intrigued by projects that explore unconventional uses of materials and those that convey meaningful whakaaro. More than tangible outcomes, I look forward to projects that go beyond, where the process and relationships contribute meaningfully to the kaupapa.