Otago Polytechnic School of Architecture master's student Mila Makasini won top prize at the 2025 Resene Student Design Awards last week, presented by Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects.
Mr Makasini’s winning project "Lalava’i Fonua" was described as lashing and weaving architecture as a "continuum mechanism" for Tongan culture.
He designed a cultural arts fale, or traditional Tongan structure, located in the Dunedin Town Belt.
In his entry, Mila said he used principal values of tā [time] and vā [space] to inform the design concepts, from which culturally identifiable motifs emerged.
The Tongan diaspora of Aotearoa often faced disconnection with their fonua [place, people, culture], Mr Makasini said.
He believed architecture could bridge the gap.
Judges said Mr Makasini’s entry was "an extraordinary and spellbinding project that speaks to the strength of sacred Tongan traditions, grounded in Aotearoa".
This was the first year students from Otago Polytechnic School of Architecture took part in the awards, after the school’s full accreditation by the New Zealand Registered Architects Board in June for its master of architecture (professional) programme.
The top project was chosen from 15 finalists from across New Zealand, including two other Otago Polytechnic master’s students — Erica Morris for "Where People Go" and Hunter Dale for "Filling in the Gaps". — Allied Media
