In a modern studio overlooking Paraparaumu’s growing town centre, Pou Architecture is busy carving out its unique path in Aotearoa’s construction design industry.
Māori and Pasifika-led, and one of Kāpiti’s latest emerging success stories, Pou Architecture combines high-end professionalism with cultural expertise.
Esekia Faiga, Whena Rikihana, and Dylan Majurey are directors of the Rimu Road based architectural firm, which uses a holistic approach that’s mindful of whanaungatanga and mātauranga Māori.
“Through our design and planning, we strive to uplift the living quality of our people and communities, and the spaces they occupy,” says Dylan, who previously worked at one of Australasia's largest architect firms, where he collaborated with iwi to include cultural components within all design and planning. “Every RFP (request for proposal) has some form of te reo influence that comes from the cultural concept of kaitiakitanga, or taking care of the land and making it better than we found it.”
Pou Architecture was co-founded in 2022 by Esekia and Whena, who were seeking better work balance and a purpose-driven business model.
Samoan-born Esekia, a father of two, had spent 10 years in a Wellington firm prior, gaining commercial experience and mentorship from industry leaders.
“Kāpiti is a beautiful place to work and play while raising children, but it’s also about the people here. You’ll meet someone who somehow has a connection to another person, and it creates opportunities,” says Esekia, who is passionate about telling Pasifika narratives through cutting-edge architecture. “We began quite small on residential projects and slowly, as we got some flavour in the books, we saw a commercial gap needing to be filled. Working with larger architect companies also helped us get our foot in the door.”
Much of the team’s earlier work stemmed from Whena’s connections with the community in Ōtaki, where the former builder was born and bred.
“When we started, I remember asking Esekia how we should incorporate our culture in our mahi,” recalls Whena, who spent 17 years in construction before a hip injury led him to a drafting course and architecture. “He reminded me, ‘We live it every day. It is being Māori, and it is being Samoan’.”
Dylan joined Pou Architecture after bumping into Esekia at a rugby catch-up. The two discussed their aspirations to fill the local commercial gap – and to look at architecture as being naturally led by Māori and Pasifika.
“In previous firms, we saw a lot of young Māori and Pacific Islanders being pigeonholed. They’re thrown into practice and put forward as cultural advisors, but don't get much
agency in the design,” says Dylan, who spent three years in the UK working on commercial projects, including $100-million-plus developments. “Then they’re not learning the same software skills as everyone else and are getting paid less.”
Four years on from launching, Pou Architecture is thriving within the region, with fifty-one percent of its work now commercial.
“Zoning changes have happened in Kāpiti over the last few years, which has allowed for more density and growth for residential areas,” Esekia explains. “It meant we've had a few hands-on residential master planning projects for town housing, or affordable housing, working alongside KCDC and developers.”
They’ve also been involved with Ministry of Education and Kōhanga Reo Trust, collaborating on projects like a kura outdoor learning space expansion in Ōtaki, using LVL timber spans with Māori design elements.
Other highlights include a 22-unit shared housing development in Tawa, of which 20 percent are disabled-accessible, and an Ōtaki health services project.
The later, an effort by the team to give back to Whena’s community, landed Pou Architecture funding from the Lotto Commission.