Forde had sculptures of up to eight storeys high made from aluminium fins laser-cut to make the spiral patterns appear to shift as people pass.<\/p>\n
Waiatarua is on what was the old carpark for Ellerslie Racecourse, run by Auckland Thoroughbred Racing. Cars now park in the centre of the course.<\/p>\n
Spiral art works on the side of a block of rental apartments at Waiatarua, Ellerslie. Photo \/ Shane Brealey<\/p>\n
Brealey said Brewer Davidson\u2019s Kevin Brewer had a pivotal role in the project.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was really his initiative,\u201d Brealey said.<\/p>\n
Bob Jahnke, a professor of M\u0101ori visual arts at Massey University at Palmerston North, was the design expert on the sculpture project.<\/p>\n
The spirals would appear to twist or move as people drove past, Jahnke said.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople will be treated to a visual interpretation of our history, because the spirals carry cosmological significance,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Three of the four sculptures refer to the three baskets of knowledge prominent in te ao M\u0101ori, Jahnke said.<\/p>\n
The fourth refers to the two sacred stones brought from the heavens by the first man, T\u0101ne, Forde wrote about the site where the apartments have been built, where a puna or wetland once existed.<\/p>\n
Simplicity Living managing director Shane Brealey (left) and Simplicity KiwiSaver managing director Sam Stubbs. Photo \/ Michael Craig<\/p>\n
The interlocking spiral design pays tribute to the movement of life and evolution to death.<\/p>\n
That spiral design is sometimes found adorning the body in the art of t\u0101 moko (traditional tattooing), Forde noted.<\/p>\n
The buildings would be waitohu, or landmarks which people would see when they arrived in or left T\u0101maki.<\/p>\n
So those buildings needed to be beautiful as well as connected to the site they stand on, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWaiatarua has an historical connection through lava forms and the caves and puna that run underneath, creating sound and interactions with air, sea and land to create waiata or song,\u201d Forde wrote.<\/p>\n
How Waiatarua is planned to look with its sculptures. Image \/ Simplicity Living<\/p>\n
The sounds were created by lava flows from natural landmarks which are iconic in the area and play a major part in its development.<\/p>\n
Waiatarua also comprises the word wai for water, ata, which is reflection, and rua, which means two.<\/p>\n
Te Reiputa at Mt Wellington, Auckland is a build-to-rent project. Photo \/ Simplicity Living<\/p>\n
That refers to two reflections in the water at St Johns Hill Lake, whose traditional name is Waiatarua, Forde said.<\/p>\n
A giant M\u0101ori artwork by Peata Larkin<\/a> is also on the New Zealand International Convention Centre.<\/p>\n Ockham also has many M\u0101ori symbols and designs at its Auckland apartment blocks.<\/p>\n Simplicity Living\u2019s build-to-rent projects<\/p>\n More than 2000 build-to-rent units are planned or under construction on seven sites at:<\/p>\n Te P\u016btahi, Ladies Mile outside Queenstown: 1078 units, a $500 million-plus investment, fast-tracking sought, 12 Lower Shotover Rd;Te Reiputa<\/a>: 297 units, 222 car parks, $225m, 80 Mt Wellington Highway, opened May 1;Waiatarua<\/a>: 330 units, 172 car parks, $284m, 130 Ascot Ave, ex-Ellerslie Racecourse carpark, dawn blessing September 25;Northcote<\/a>: 93 units, 137 Lake Rd, under construction, started in November;Morningside: 322 units, 10 Morningside Drive, construction started last July, due for completion 2027;Ex-Unitec and at Waterview, developing 206 units with\u00a0Ng\u0101ti Wh\u0101tua<\/a>;It is also considering buying at Maungawhau near the CBD, on land used for the City Rail Link\u2019s laydown yard. Yet to purchase.<\/p>\nKokihi apartments by Ockham in Waterview, 2021. Photo \/ Alex Burton <\/p>\n