Philosophy

As a landscape architectural and urban design practice, Wā endeavors to explore the ways in which cultural, historical and natural processes interact to shape and inform our environment. Our primary focus is the public domain within an urban context, however, we participate in, and contribute to, a wide range of projects of varying scale, complexity and ownership.

In much of this work we recognise the value and importance of meaningful collaborations: the collaborative process is one that we enjoy and foster at every opportunity. We think that an interdisciplinary approach delivers the most robust and rich response to complex urban landscape issues.

The theory that underpins Wā’s design methodology in Aotearoa New Zealand recognises the complex relationships between a landscape, its people, and its history. By mapping the history of landscape and settlement Wā have designed places that are rich and textured, spatially complex, programmatically flexible and overlaid with stories that reveal and interpret the locus. Rigorous research offers us the potential to work with what is there: to draw upon, enrich and amplify natural qualities and identity. Analysis and understanding of the ecological and cultural relationships of a site directs decisions about form and arrangement, materials and techniques.

The outcomes in both built and speculative work have shown the diverse formal landscape architectural expressions that can be achieved through the integration of ecological systems and urban design. They have generated performative sustainability benefits and provided rich and complex narratives that reveal a story about the site.