84 | Falk Tapsell ARCHITECTURE From the beginning, we believed Pūtahi Teia would set a new benchmark Proud project leasing partners from inception TEAM BRADLEY | BAYLEYS COMMERCIAL | TAURANGA SUCCESS REALTY LTD, BAYLEYS, LICENSED UNDER THE REA ACT 2008 Responding to unique cultural contexts The building is shrouded at the front by a striking ‘brise soleil’ which serves both practical and architectural functions. T T Sue Russell “They had a vision for a place that would honour the memory of Teia while delivering a high-performing legacy asset.” Architect and Māori design leader Ngata Tapsell (Ngāti Whakaue, Ngāti Pūkenga, Tainui and Ngāti Porou) has enjoyed a diverse array of enriching experiences since graduating from Auckland University’s School of Architecture in 2000. He describes his introduction to architecture and design as preordained, but somewhat unconventional. “I studied a range of subjects at school in preperation for a career in the sciences, but at the time I was not particularly excited by the prospect. I’d always been strong artistically, and thrived in architecture-adjacent classes such as art history, English and biology. I pursued a Bachelor of Science at Massey for a year before a moment of self reflection convinced me to pursue architecture,” Ngata says. After university, and working for 5 years in Wellington and Auckland, he left New Zealand in 2005 to live and build his career in the sizable international markets of Dubai, Sydney and Singapore. During the years that followed Ngata gained a wealth of experience on projects which were at the time, some of the largest and most complex in the world. On his return in 2016 Ngata joined Warren and Mahoney’s Auckland studio, working on large-scale commercial, retail, hospitality, residential and civic projects. He also established and led the practice’s Advanced Māori Design Unit, Te Matakīrea. “When I returned I observed a marked societal shift in attitudes toward the role that Māori might play in the future of New Zealand’s built environment, and the time was right to lay the foundations for how this could influence thinking on large high-profile projects.” Ngata subsequently joined the Beca Design Practice in 2020 as a principal and around the same time he was appointed to the Auckland and Tauranga Urban Design Panels, where he has been able to influence a wide range of projects in the early stages of design. In 2024 Ngata made the decision to step out on his own, establishing the Auckland-based Falk Tapsell Architects, where he leads a number of engaging projects, including the award-winning Pūtahi Teia, an exciting new commercial project in Tauranga. Undertaken in association with Beca and praised recently at the Waikato/Bay of Plenty 2026 NZIA awards, judges described the building as a ‘thoughtful, rigorous, and beautifully detailed project, highlighting the strong potential of buildings grounded in cultural identity’. Commissioned by owners Pukaingataru Trust and named after its late and long-serving Chair Teia Williams, great care was taken to respond to the project’s unique cultural context and to deliver a visionary and resilient commercial asset. Envisaged as the ‘meeting place of Teia’, the design gives form to the values upon which the Trust was founded while exploring the potential and continued relevance of culturally grounded places in our modern urban environment. Ngata points out that while Pukaingataru is Bay of Plenty based, they are not mana whenua in central Tauranga, a status and responsibility held by Ngāi Tamarāwaho. “We understood that we were visitors in the rohe of another hapū and the team was eager to ensure that Ngāi Tamarāwaho were involved in the conversation from the outset. Many of their older generation knew Teia personally and were supportive of a building that honoured the contribution that he had made over the course of his life.” The building is shrouded at the front by a striking ‘brise soleil’ which serves both practical and architectural functions. A distinctive floating facade created from 189 sculpted aluminium poles gives the building considerable street presence, while providing cover to pedestrians, sunshading and a level of privacy to the buildings interior. “The building is also an exemplar of smart adaptive reuse, breathing new life into the structure of an existing building that has occupied the site for almost 50 years and bringing it up to date with modern building standards. Clues to this storied past are revealed throughout the building and the structure is visible throughout,” he says. Extending across 1298 sqm and two levels, Pūtahi Teia is being actively marketed by Bayleys Real Estate who describe the block as a comprehensive refurbishment designed to meet the market demand for A Grade office space. Bayleys say the profile of the location, together with the bold design approach, will provide future tenants with one of the most sought-after addresses in Tauranga, where up to six proposed tenancies are spread over two levels in various configurations, ranging from 105–536sqm, suitable for retail, office or light hospitality uses. Ngata says that for Pukaingataru, Pūtahi Teia is part of a wider strategy of asset diversification. Being relatively new to property development, the Trust was keen to ensure that the development was undertaken in a way that was both visionary and commercially sustainiable. “They had a vision for a place that would honour the memory of Teia while delivering a high-performing legacy asset. “We leveraged that vision by taking a deep-dive into the things that exemplified the man he was — his leadership to bring people together in pursuit of a common goal and his laser-sighted focus on measurable real-world results.”
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