Design inspiration:
The Marae is a sacred open meeting area and is generally located in front of the "Whare Runanga", a communal meeting house. It is the area of greatest mana and spirituality; a place that heightens people's dignity and the place where Maori customs are given the greatest expression. No members of the local tribal community live permanently in a Whare. Almost without exception, the Whare is named after an ancestor. It is usually symbolically designed to represent the chief and his ancestors.