The turning point for Deme, whose great grandfather on his paternal side hailed from the Cook Islands, came when he attended Dilworth School as a senior boarder. “That transition was a big one; I’m not going to lie,” he says. And yet, it’s where he found his calling. “It was the most amazing experience. If I could go back to live my high school years, I would.”
Art was his leader into architecture. At Dilworth, his long-held interest in the subject was shaped into an active passion. “An understanding of what art means fuelled my creativity,” says Deme. Inspired by his teacher, Jenny Song, he started to create contemporary visual art that explored his cultural identity.
In Year 12 and 13, he began applying Māori and Pasifika design in different ways – through drawing, then architectural drawing. “It helped me recognise what design and visual communication was - and could do.” When one of his high school English teachers introduced him to her sister who was an architect, the die was cast. Deme would be the first in his family to enrol at university.
Now in his third year, looking back he can see how far he has travelled, and how his deep ancestral roots are influencing his thinking. “Every design paper, I present the Māori and Pasifika point of view. This demographic within the faculty is very low, so it has been a blessing that I am able to help other students to better understand our culture and traditional customs.”
Receiving the RTA Studio scholarship has certainly helped financially, not only to pay for his student loan and all those little extras (such as 3D printing and laser cutting that are specific to the degree) but also to give Deme a real sense of purpose. “When I saw how such an established, successful firm was wanting to give back to a minority, it sparked me,” he says. “I wanted to give back, too.”
Two short stints in our Auckland studio introduced Deme to the team and the Monday morning catch-up sessions where we share progress on our projects. The experience allowed him to meet others who were on various stages of their architecture journey – from young grads to directorship level. Plus, he was introduced to the Living House – a low-cost, fast-built, climate-positive, repeatable home. “That was amazing,” he says. “It was cool because a lot of my family are from up North and would like to build on their land. From the costs I saw, it seemed really affordable, considering how expensive housing is these days.”
His end goal is naturally to be an architect – a well-known one. But he’s in no hurry to get there. Rather, his plan is to finish his degree and then to gain some real-world experience in industries that are aligned with the profession, in education and government organisations. “My mum works at Kāinga Ora as a property and tenancy officer, so I’d like to get some experience and insights there.”
Then he'll translate that knowledge to his craft - in architecture with a social heart.