Te Whenua: Memory Beneath the Surface

An a landscape proposal that reimagines Albert Park as a looped journey through geological, cultural, and collective memory. The design descends into the earth, beginning with a raw volcanic chamber that recalls the land’s pre-human formation. From there, visitors move through a symbolic waka channel, evoking ancestral ocean voyages and the arrival of Māori. The path continues into a subdued memorial gallery reflecting the site’s military past, before gradually returning to light at ground level. Through spatial transitions and material shifts, the project invites reflection on how the whenua (land) holds memory — not in monuments, but in layers of earth, silence, and presence.