New Book an Important Milestone

Book Cover Image courtesy Penguin Group (NZ).

At last a book that charts the course of Maori architecture! I spied this handsome volume just last week – “Maori Architecture – From Fale to Wharenui and Beyond,” written by Dr Deidre Brown and published by Penquin Group (NZ). It’s the first book that focuses on the genesis and form of indigenous buildings in New Zealand, exploring the vast array of Maori-designed structures and spaces, how they have evolved over time and how they tell the story of an ever-changing people. It covers everything from early Polynesian settlement, the introduction and influence of Christianity and Western technology, the buildings of religious-political movements (Ringatu, Parihaka and Ratana for instance) to post-war urban migration and contemporary architecture. In addition to the authoritative text, over 130 lavish photographs give the book visual punch. Deidre Brown is a Maori art and architectural historian of Northern Ngapuhi, Ngati Kahu and Pakeha descent. Her previous books have also been ‘winners’ – literally in the case of Tai Tokerau Whakairo Rakau –Northland Maori Woodcarving (2003), which won Best First Book Award, Non-Fiction at the 2004 Montana New Zealand Book Awards. Brown has also written Introducing Maori Art (2005), Maori Arts of the Gods (2005) and Te Puna: Maori Art from Te Tai Tokerau Northland (2007, co-edited with Ngarino Ellis). She currently works as senior lecturer at the School of Architecture & Planning, University of Auckland. http://www.penguin.co.nz/