Tī Kōuka House
In late 2024, Black Pine took a significant step in what we hope will be a hundred year (and more) journey for our company: we moved into a new home.
We’ve called it ‘Tī Kōuka House’ in honour of the towering tī kōuka/cabbage tree that grows on the Whanganui property. How old this tree is we don’t know, but at around 10 metres tall and with a trunk too thick for a child to wrap their arms around, it’s clearly been here a long time.
As happens with old age, there are some signs of underlying health issues. Over the dry summer months, the fountains of long green fibrous leaves that represent new growth have almost all withered to brown and been swept away by the wind. The crown has become wispy and dull. We’re hoping for the best, but the tree as we know it may be about to enter its second life.
While doing some research, we were taken by the idea that tī kōuka were once used by Māori as navigational aids:
“Significant landmarks throughout the area were the prized Tī kōuka (cabbage trees) which were carefully planted to mark out navigational routes. The hills were the easiest way to keep your bearings, but if they were obscured by weather, the cabbage trees would show the way.”[1]
This concept resonates with us, and we hope our tī kōuka will become a wayfinder for those who share our longer-term approach, belief in designing things with an eye for future generations, and desire to be a good ancestor.
Behind the tī kōuka is a single storey wooden bungalow where we now work. It was originally built in the 1920s, and for most of the last 30 years it was an orthodontist practice (we inherited some pretty interesting gear if you’re into DIY dentistry…). The place has good strong bones, but hasn’t had a check-up in a while.
There are holes in the floor and cracks in the walls. We’ve exposed some truly baffling plumbing configurations. There’s no hot water and no insulation. The beautiful old windows let lots of lovely light in while heat escapes just as freely.
So, we are the client now and this will be our project.
Our aim is to retrofit the old building in line with the Living Building Challenge. We get to go through the whole process, reviewing the building from the ground up. We’re doing the plans and budgets, considering our carbon footprint, energy efficiency and finding the best materials. We’re designing for the future, and we hope to build a legacy.
It’s an extremely exciting project, and we look forward to sharing the story of Tī Kōuka House as it transforms into a beautiful building that will be at the heart of our business for a long time to come.
PS: As we write this in autumn, thick clusters of seeds – tens of thousands of them – still cling to the branches of our tī kōuka. Many will fall and nestle in the lawn and in tiny cracks in the pavement, a few metres from their mother. Some of these ancestors are already emerging, and the tree will live on. All things going well, we’ll be here to help them grow for the next hundred years (and more).
