Open Access Te Herenga Waka-Victoria University of Wellington
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Regenerative Architecture: An Application of Regionalist Sustainability in New Zealand Dairy Farming Practice

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posted on 2021-11-13, 12:43 authored by Whitehead, Jacob

Over the past decade the New Zealand dairy industry has undergone unparalleled expansion in the agricultural sector. The influence of globalised market competition, beginning in 1985, has resulted in significant changes to the operation and scale of production of New Zealand farm conditions. With this, there have been a series of changes to the physical form of farming in New Zealand - most notably in a shift towards larger and more intensive practice. The term 'factory farming' has taken a unique and contextual evolution within these conditions, leading to questions of sustainability. Sustainability in this setting is often defined by production growth and trade conditions before more humanistic issues of social and ecological welfare.   Similar to the competing perspectives of New Zealand dairy farm sustainability, the discipline of architecture faces a wide and complex field of approaches to sustainable practice. The views of researcher, Steven Moore, are focused on in this study with regard to the contested definitions of architectural sustainability. He advocates a regionalist approach in the belief that sustainability is better defined by local circumstance than a universal best approach. Moore's theory of non-modem regionalism and regenerative architecture are utilised in this thesis as a means of questioning the issues faced in New Zealand dairy farm sustainability. This study applies Moore's concept of a regenerative architecture in New Zealand dairy farming to cultivate improved social and ecological conditions.  The architectural consequence of this discussion is in the form of a future mixed-use prototype for Canterbury dairy farming practice. This design explores the relationship between architecture, place and regionalist concepts of sustainability to improve the social and ecological attributes of this cultural setting. By taking a multidisciplinary approach to toward environmentally and socially sustainable dairy farming practices the design produces an integrated system that identifies with Moore's regenerative strategy. The study concludes that further architectural investigations into this setting could potentially influence and improve the future health and sustainability of the industry.

History

Copyright Date

2013-01-01

Date of Award

2013-01-01

Publisher

Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington

Rights License

Author Retains Copyright

Degree Discipline

Architecture

Degree Grantor

Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington

Degree Level

Masters

Degree Name

Master of Architecture (Professional)

ANZSRC Type Of Activity code

961202 Rehabilitation of Degraded Farmland, Arable Cropland and Permanent Cropland Environments

Victoria University of Wellington Item Type

Awarded Research Masters Thesis

Language

en_NZ

Victoria University of Wellington School

School of Architecture

Advisors

Parkes, Peter; Wood, Peter