Students from New Zealand and Australian tertiary institutions explored the Otago Peninsula as part of the Atelier South Summer School, run by Otago Polytechnic’s School of Architecture.
More than 40 students and staff have spent part of their summer holidays working alongside local communities and mana whenua to design real world solutions to aid climate-resilient living.
Students took part in a mix of field trips and studio-based projects at the School of Architecture during their fortnight in Dunedin, complemented by a week of online and collaborative learning either side at their home institutions.
The architecture summer school attracted senior architecture students from the Auckland University of Technology, Unitec, Ara, as well as Melbourne’s Monash University.
Otago Polytechnic Head of Architecture Associate Professor Tobias Danielmeier said in a statement students were being challenged to explore what it meant to live, work, play, develop resources, grow food, educate and thrive within a self-sustaining, circular economy.
"The aim is to bring different students from different places together to work on real-life problems, issues and opportunities", he said.
These experiences helped students sharpen their way of thinking about architecture and the world in general, he said.
Monash University student Grace Briggs-Yuan enjoyed her first visit to New Zealand and the opportunity to connect with like-minded New Zealand architecture students and explore the area.
"I’ve loved the field trips along the peninsula, just experiencing nature at different scales", she said.
"We got to see the yellow-eyed penguins at Opera [Otago Peninsula Ecosystems Research Alliance], went to the Royal Albatross Centre and visited the Portobello Marine Laboratory.
"Our group’s now working on a project that explores connecting Otago Peninsula and Dunedin, and we’re also looking at the flooding problems in South Dunedin."
Monash University classmate Ethan Zohar, in the final year of his Master of Architecture studies, said the opportunity was worth giving up part of his summer break.
"Coming here, it’s a unique environment that you don’t know anything about, so you’re going in a little bit fresh and you get to experience different thinking through working with new people", he said.
The pilot project is supported by the Dunedin City Council, mana whenua, industry specialists and local tourism operators. — Allied Media
