Warren and Mahoney say that Te Ari will bring a sense of place and identity, and a collaborative design approach to projects and clients, and is a welcome addition to the practice’s well-established and industry-leading Cultural Design Unit Te Matakīrea, led by Whare Timu.

With a specific focus on Indigenous design in health, housing, education, civic and community projects, Prendergast will bolster Warren and Mahoney’s Cultural Design Unit, Te Matakīrea in an effort to embed authentic Indigenous insight and expression through project work in New Zealand, Australia and across the Pacific Rim. 

Warren and Mahoney Principal and Te Matakīrea Lead, Whare Timu says, “Te Ari will play an influential role in the advancement of Te Matakīrea, by influencing distinctiveness, identifying value in cultural diversity, and lifting expectations through closer collaboration with our key stakeholders and clients.”

“He will be a vocal advocate for the Indigenous influence in design across all our studios, through external engagement in different forums and will deliver authentic and culturally appropriate design outcomes consistent with iwi, hapū and first-peoples values and aspirations.”

“We are honoured to have Te Ari join our practice at a time when this couldn’t be more critical to furthering our societies across the Pacific Rim.”

While based in Auckland, Prendergast will bring specialist insight and design capability to projects and clients across the Group.

Te Ari was previously an Architectural Associate at TOA Architects, a kaupapa Māori practice led by Nicholas Dalton. You can read more about Te Ari’s experience and background in his On the Rise interview with ArchitectureNow.