Ranui: the body is a temple, the suburb is a crack house
Master of Architecture by Project
2015
We New Zealanders live on a small island, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Our urban fabric is generally a very loose weave: low rise buildings, huge amounts of open space, and a sprinkling of people in between. This is not just an incidental aspect of our built environment; it is a heavily ingrained part of our identity. We are constantly on the look out for ways to get away from other people: to escape to the bach, away to the beach, go camping in the middle of nowhere, take the boat out – just far enough so as not to see anyone else. And this is fine, until we come to the suburb. The glorious open spaces of the suburb that – if we are not careful – hide in its folds our heart disease and depression and domestic violence and desire to suicide.