The key objective of the Principles is to enhance the protection, reinstatement, development and articulation of Mana Whenua cultural landscapes enabling all of us (Mana Whenua, Mataawaka, Tauiwi and Manuhiri) to connect to and deepen our ‘sense of place’.
The Principles seek to foster and guide both culturally appropriate design processes and design responses that enhance all of our appreciation of the natural landscape and built environment and which place Mana Whenua as the heart of both.
The Principles are intended as an enabling strategic foundation to adopt for design engagement with iwi/hapū. There is potential to customise and further develop in response to local iwi/hapū context. The principles also provide local and central government, other stakeholders and the design community with a clear understanding as to how iwi/hapū may value and wish to participate in the design and development of the built environment within their ancestral rohe.
The use of the Principles is predicated on the development of high quality durable relationships being developed between iwi/hapū, cultural and design professionals and local and central government. Robust relationships between these groups provide opportunities for design to integrate Māori values into design outcomes across the spectrum from identity to environmental.