Elisapeta Hinemoa Heta is a New Zealand Māori architect. She is affiliated to the

Ngāti Wai Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori roughly means "people" or "nation", and is often translated as "tribe", or "a confederation of tribes". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, ...

and

Waikato Tainui Waikato Tainui, Waikato or Tainui is a group of Māori ''iwi'' based in Waikato Region, in the western central region of New Zealand's North Island. It is part of the larger Tainui confederation of Polynesian settlers who arrived to New Zealand o ...

iwi (tribes). She also has Samoan and

Tokelauan Tokelauan is a Polynesian language spoken in Tokelau and on Swains Island (or Olohega) in American Samoa. It is closely related to Tuvaluan and is related to Samoan and other Polynesian languages. Tokelauan has a co-official status with Engli ...

heritage. Heta was the recipient of a National Association of Women in Construction (New Zealand) Excellence Award in 2018.

Biography

Heta grew up in a small cottage in

Rānui Rānui is a suburb of West Auckland, New Zealand, which is under the local governance of Auckland Council. The area is densely populated but close to the western fringe of the Auckland urban area. The word 'rānui' in Māori means 'midday'. D ...

, West Auckland, and later in Te Atatu North, which became Te Atatu Peninsula. Her mother was a school caretaker and cleaner, and her father was a security guard. She attended Ranui Primary School, Te Atatu Peninsula Primary School, Te Atatu Intermediate School and Rutherford College. She enrolled to study architecture at the

University of Auckland , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

in 2007, and went on to complete two master's degrees: one in architecture and another in museums and cultural heritage. After graduating, she took a series of short-term contracts, including for DesignTRIBE, in television and film, and also travelled to the United States. On her return, she worked with Lynda Simmons to prepare an exhibition for

Architecture + Women NZ Architecture + Women New Zealand (A+W NZ) is a membership-based professional organisation of women in architecture in New Zealand. The organisation promotes diversity, inclusion and equity in architecture through events, membership, advocacy ...

, which was staged in 2013. In 2015, she joined architectural design firm Jasmax and began to work with three other Māori architectural graduates to bring Māori design principles to the firm's projects and to engage with local iwi and hapu. She later became a principal architect at the company. At Jasmax, she has worked on projects such as the New Zealand Pavilion at

Expo 2020 Expo 2020 ( ar, إكسبو 2020) was a World Expo hosted by Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, from 1 October 2021 to 31 March 2022. Originally scheduled for 20 October 2020 to 10 April 2021, it was postponed due to the COVID-19 ...

in Dubai, the Fale Malae project in Wellington, the

Western Springs College Western Springs College ( mi, Nga Puna O Waiorea) is a state co-educational secondary school located in Western Springs (Auckland suburb), Western Springs, an inner suburb of Auckland, New Zealand, Auckland, New Zealand. The school educates appr ...

Ngā Puna O Waiōrea development and infrastructure such as stations and pedestrian bridges for the Auckland

City Rail Link The City Rail Link (CRL) is a rail project currently under construction in Auckland, New Zealand. The project consists of a 3.5 km long double-track rail tunnel underneath Auckland's city centre, between Britomart Transport Centre and M ...

project. Heta was a

New Zealand Institute of Architects Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects (NZIA) is a membership-based professional organisation that represents 90 per cent of all registered architects in New Zealand, and promotes architecture that enhances the New Zealand livi ...

board member from 2016 to 2019. She was co-opted to the board to represent Ngā Aho, a national network of Māori design professionals. She was instrumental in the process which gifted the Institute a Māori language name, Te Kāhui Whaihanga, and also co-wrote and implemented Te Kawenata o Rata (a covenant) between Ngā Aho and the institute, recognising

Te Tiriti o Waitangi The Treaty of Waitangi ( mi, Te Tiriti o Waitangi) is a document of central importance to the history, to the political constitution of the state, and to the national mythos of New Zealand. It has played a major role in the treatment of the M ...

. She joined Architecture + Women NZ in 2013 and co-chaired the organisation in 2017 and 2018. In 2022, Heta was appointed co-director of the UIA (International Union of Architects) Indigenous Peoples Work Programme.

Awards and recognition

In 2018, she won the Rising Star Award (office-based category) at the

National Association of Women in Construction (New Zealand) Excellence Awards The National Association of Women in Construction (New Zealand) Excellence Awards is an annual set of awards which recognise the achievements of women working in construction and affiliated industries in New Zealand, as well as recognising organisat ...

. In 2022, Heta received a Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects President's Award.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heta, Elisapeta Living people Year of birth missing (living people) New Zealand women architects 21st-century New Zealand architects Waikato Tainui people Ngāti Wai people University of Auckland alumni New Zealand people of Samoan descent New Zealand people of Tokelauan descent People educated at Rutherford College, Auckland