This thesis seeks to explore if a multi-sensory building on the banks of Te Whau (the Whau) can have a profound influence in connecting people back to the awa (river). Through design making and testing I investigate various atmospheres through the manipulation of naturally derived materials and weather to gain an understanding of how we inhabit a space, and consequently, experience, learn and know more about our environment.

The proposed location, an old landfill, and brickworks site on the banks of Te Whau Awa, known as Archibald Park, is located west of Tamaki Makaurau Auckland, in the suburb of Kelston. The park lies alongside the ever-changing tidal estuarial arm of Waitemata Harbour and will soon be a major link in the Te Whau Pathway project. A new 15-kilometre-long pathway and boardwalk under staged construction, will connect multiple suburbs and recreational green spaces along the awa. This multi-sensory architecture will be located at the southern end of the park; it will bisect the pathway creating a crucial riverside pause point. Te Whau banks are comprised of clay. The former brickmaking activities on the site inform an investigation of utilising brick as a material that can reference the whenua (land). In the project, brick and other naturally derived materials are explored based on their potential to register the elements of weather.
Programmatically the centre will offer kayak and bike hire, areas for bathing, washing, and relaxing as well as a place that offers refreshments and kai (food). The building has community rooms to host small scale local activities; classes, hui, talanoa, music, crafts, chess, dance, and yoga as well as storage facilities for residents to store their kayaks. In this way, local activities are bought into proximity with the awa allowing inhabitants to spend time reconnecting and engaging with this urban waterway. Juhani Pallasmaa proposes that contemporary architects have lost touch with the fundamental sensory and mental issues concerning our relationships with our physical settings. This thesis addresses this through multiple test models and academic literature research from the perspective of Pallasmaa, Hill, Zumthor and Kahn.