When Pacific culture meets modern sustainability

In eastern Porirua, a housing project is reshaping what community-focused urban design can look like in Aotearoa.

Our Whare Our Fale is a Central Pacific Collective (CPC) initiative that will bring 300 affordable, multi-generational homes to a region where damp and overcrowded housing has long plagued the health and prosperity of Pacific families.

But these aren’t just homes, they are a fusion of Pacific culture and modern sustainability with the aim of helping future generations.

At the heart of the project is a concept deeply rooted in Pacific culture: the malae - a communal space that serves as the nucleus of village life.

Elyjana Roach, who was raised in Porirua, is the lead designer of Our Whare Our Fale, and explained how this traditional idea shapes the entire housing design.

Elyjana Roach was a Fullbright Scholar having graduated with a Masters in Architecture in Urban Design at Harvard Graduate School of Design. Photo/Ala Vailala

“For every design outcome, you have to have an origin, and our origin for this project is our Pacific culture,” Roach said.

“It’s not just about the bricks and mortar. It’s about the spirit of the people living here.

“By centring our design around the malae, we’re creating a village atmosphere where connection and shared space are at the core.

“We always start with the needs of the community. In Porirua in the east, that’s multi-generational housing, that’s warm and efficient and dry housing.”

House design. Photo/Ala Vailala

For a community facing some of the highest rates of respiratory illnesses and material hardship, these design elements are game-changers.

Te Rūnanga o Toa Rangatira Chief Executive, Helmut Modlik, emphasised on the deep connection between Ngāti Toa Rangatira and the Pacific community, which has been instrumental in bringing this project to life.

Modlik (far right) at the blessing of the gifted land in Eastern Porirua. Photo/Ala Vailala.

As mana whenua, Ngāti Toa has committed to sharing their resources and ancestral land to address the region’s social and housing inequities.

“This project fits logically in our ecosystem of explicit support and social infrastructure,” Modlik said.

“It’s a continuation of our journey, where we and the Pacific community are formally and informally binding ourselves together and working together.

“Hundreds of Pacific families will live on Ngāti Toa’s land, gifted in perpetuity to provide a place to thrive.”

The project also incorporates modern sustainability measures where homes are designed for solar readiness, with water storage tanks and food security initiatives planned in collaboration with Ngāti Toa.

“The houses are designed in a way where they’ll be very, very warm, making sure that the people living in those homes remain healthy,” the Collective’s CEO, Fa’amatuainu Tino Pereira, said.

CPC CEO, Fa'amatuainu Tino Pereira. Photo/Ala Vailala

Fa’amatuainu says homeownership will fundamentally change the future of Pacific families.

Through a shared equity scheme, families who might never have dreamed of owning a home will be given a chance, he adds.

“If you have housing, and if you own your own home, it gives you the opportunity to address all of the issues you haven’t before.

“You get equity in your house, which allows you to build the wealth we need for generations.”

The project has $115 million in government support and land gifted by Ngāti Toa.

Construction of the first 18 homes began on Friday, and when complete, officials say they will not only provide shelter but a new way of living, and celebrating Pacific identity while paving the way for a sustainable future.

Roach says the significance of this project goes beyond architecture.

“For me, it’s about the next generation. My sister’s generation, enabling them to see themselves taking up positions of leadership or chasing their dreams. It’s about acknowledging those who have gone before me and paved the way.”

Listen to the full report on Pacific Mornings here