Tiny Hut – Big opportunity

A Christchurch high school student has his sights set on the world of architecture and design after winning a Christchurch City Council design competition.

Manaia Wilson-Moses with the drawings for his tiny hut.

Shirley Boys’ High School Year 9 pupil Manaia Wilson-Moses won the Schools category in the New Brighton Tiny Huts Design Competition.

His marae-inspired design was constructed by Naylor Love and is one of five winning designs recently located in and around New Brighton Mall.

Manaia Wilson-Moses said he wanted his design named Te Wharau to reflect his Maori culture, and also reference the angled lines of a church – all re-imagined into a tiny (2m x 2m) space.

Head of Maths at Shirley Boys High School Tom Davies said students usually design a bach in his lessons so the Tiny Huts competition offered a different opportunity.

“I looked at the competition details and they were very similar – so I thought, let’s have a go. They are not only making use of a computer design programme at school but are thinking in terms of measurements, volumes and physics, as well as cultural and practical considerations, such as wheelchair access.

“It’s not just textbook learning anymore, but working with real-life problems and solutions. With his design, Manaia was bringing in the physics side of things with solar panels and solar charging – you can charge a mobile phone there for instance – and the cultural side. New Brighton has relevance for us with the new [combined Shirley Boys’ and Avonside Girls’] high school going to the former QEII site nearby. There are lots of aspects that would not be considered traditional maths, which are now incorporated into maths in the real world,” Mr Davies said.

The finished hut.

Manaia said he enjoyed the process of meeting and working with Naylor Love on design during construction and seeing his idea translated into reality.

“I think this is definitely something I can develop in my life. Design or architecture is something I want to look at as a choice for a career for the future.”

Manaia said he felt very proud to see his Tiny Hut, Te Wharau on show at the school temporarily, where it was blessed and a haka performed, before being moved out to New Brighton on October 21. 

Manaia and Shirley Boys'  High School hope that Te Wharau will eventually have pride of place at the new school.