Recent News
Feb 14, 2010 Mauri Model Survey on Rural Housing Methods
The survey is currently OPEN and will close on the 16th of March.
Invitation
You are invited to share your perspectives by participating in this survey on two rural housing methods; A timber framed house and UKU (a flax-fibre reinforced rammed earth hosue). Your participation is voluntary. The survey will take up to 20 minutes to complete. Participants can receive a summary of survey results if they provide a contact address.
Survey Purpose
The results will be used to identify the advantages and disadvantages of a timber framed house and a flax-fibre reinforced rammed earth house in order to find areas of mutual agreement and areas of contrast with regard to the economic, environmental, social and cultural aspects.
Nov 23-26, 2009 Whareuku Workshop in Ahipara, Northland.
Hands-on learning on how to build using the UKU method.
If you are interested to attend please email jche242@aucklanduni.ac.nz
Nov 8, 2009 Open home at the Rotoiti UKU dwelling. See the house, chat with the house occupants, meet the Whareuku Team. A great opportunity to see the real thing.
Date: Sunday 8 Nov 2009
Time: 9:30am-12:30pm
Venue: Haumingi 10a2b Papakainga, 1504 SH30, Rotoiti, Bay of Plenty
Host: The Hitchcock Family and the SHaC09 Whareuku team
For more information please contact John on 021 0262 3499 or email shac09uku@gmail.com
Sept 29 - Oct 8 Art show ‘One Quarter of a Whare’ collides the two worlds of Art and Engineering in the physical collaboration of labour in the context of the university gallery. A rammed earth wall will gradually be constructed over the period of the show through the joint efforts of the artists and the visiting public. Everyone welcome.
Sept 17 Engineers for Social Responsibility Lecture - Towards Sustainable Housing Solutions for Maori: UKU
Thursday 17 September 2009, 7:30pm
Venue: Room 3.407 School of Engineering, University of Auckland
All Welcome
The Project
Whareuku
Whareuku, or Earth House, is a University of Auckland collective founded to create a low-cost earthen housing solution for rural Maori communities. By the end of 2007 the project had successfully acquired a building consent for the proposed earthen structure and began construction in March 2008.
The objective of the whareuku construction is to create a simple and affordable modular building system that local people can build from local materials, with minimal need to draw on outside expertise like professional engineers or architects.
