Turning pain into purpose
Render of the Wharerama Pod.
Render of the Wharerama Pod.
Render of the Wharerama Pod.
Christchurch-based Sheppard & Rout Architects and Meadow Landscape Architecture have collaborated to design a calm, carefully crafted ‘pod’ to be placed in schools and community settings throughout the country as safe, supportive spaces for everyday students.
The Wharerama Pod is an initiative of the Lighthouse Trust, a charity formed by Anna and Kent Gibbons following the death of their son Lucca in Christchurch in 2024. “This charity was born from love, from grief and from the unshakeable belief that out of loss can come light,” says Lucca’s sister, Bella. “Losing Lucca was the hardest thing that we could ever face but mental health can affect anyone and we wanted to prevent other families from experiencing this heartbreak. We wanted to create spaces for young people to feel safe, grounded and supported: to pause, to breathe, to regulate their emotions and to be reminded that their feelings are valid.”
The pod has been designed with input from rangatahi, and from teaching and health industry professionals. “Wharerama means lighthouse — a beacon of hope and safety through the storms of life — and it will provide a quiet place to reset, using nature and the five senses to deactivate heightened emotion,” explains Kent. “Youth populations worldwide are caught in a booming mental health crisis, with the 2024 World Happiness Report finding a steep decline in the mental well-being of youth. And New Zealand research paints a similar picture. It’s a crisis that is only getting worse, and we can’t afford to wait for the mental health system to catch up. We hope what we are doing will help to change the lives of countless young people like Lucca.”
Architect Duncan Barron says the nature-inspired sensory spaces are designed as sanctuaries to help students reduce stress and cultivate mindfulness for improved well-being and focus. “Each pod provides a safe zone that is free from judgement or stigma in a natural, biophilic setting that honours cultural identity and emotional well-being,” says Barron.
The Lighthouse Trust is currently fund-raising to build a pilot Wharerama Pod for students of St Thomas of Canterbury College, where principal Steve Hart is already promoting neuro-regulation in the school culture. The aim, then, is to introduce the pods to other schools throughout Aotearoa, while undertaking a longitudinal study into the benefits they provide.
The prefabricated 25m2 pods use efficient construction methodology and natural materials, and supporters of the initiative can donate money directly to the Trust or help in kind by providing building supplies, landscaping materials or labour. Learn more about the Lighthouse Trust here.
