Whare Māori - Kainga/The Village (First Episode)

Television (Full Length Episode) – 2011

This first episode of the award-winning Māori Television series looks at the influence of the idea of 'the village' on Māori architecture. Architect Rau Hoskins is guide; he ranges from traditional designs, such as Rotorua's Whakarewarewa thermal village, to Rua Kenana's extraordinary circular meeting house — with its club and diamonds decor — built on an Urewera mountainside. Hoskins ends up at Wellington's 26 metre high Tapu Te Ranga Marae, made from recycled car packing cases, which sadly burnt down in an accidental fire in 2019. The episode won Best Information Programme at the 2011 Aotearoa Film and TV Awards.

Excellent ... The series is beautifully shot local cultural history through architecture, very much the story of how the built environment helps inform who we are.
– Diana Wichtel in a Listener review, 4 July 2011