A picture of health

It’s a common misconception for humans to view their own experience of the world as being universal. Through her recent thesis project, spatial and architectural designer Javani Govender chose to challenge the clinical sterility of Westernised healthcare spaces by proposing a design language that centres on indigenous knowledge, care rituals and connection to place. While her research focused primarily on how healthcare environments could be re-indigenised to better support Māori health and wellbeing, she also considered how this approach would ultimately contribute more broadly to our shared urban environments and inform the design of a clinic focused on holistic wellbeing.

“The project was shaped by both personal experience and a broader kaupapa (guiding principle). As someone who has navigated New Zealand’s public health system, I know what it feels like to be treated clinically but not holistically. My thesis emerged as a way to confront that – not just through critique, but through design. I wanted to understand how indigenous frameworks and mātauranga (Māori knowledge) could reorient healthcare spaces toward connection, reciprocity and whenua (a deep spiritual connection to place). My research focuses on the potential of spatial design to disrupt dominant clinical hierarchies and restore rituals of care that are communal, sensory and grounded. While I’m not Māori, I hold a responsibility as a designer in New Zealand to contribute to the reindigenisation of land, systems and futures. The project was also a way to learn how to practice ethically as tauiwi (a non-Māori person) through listening, decentring and designing with humility,” Javani explains.

Through her research, Javani looked towards indigenous health perspectives and how these are founded in relationships with the environment. “Colonised healthcare systems tend to universalise a narrow view of the body, one that’s white, cis, male and disembodied,” she says. “Reindigenising these systems invites us to design from a much wider lens; one that honours cyclical time, spiritual connection, whakapapa (lineage) and whānau (family). When we shift the design foundation from compliance to care, everyone benefits. A waiting room becomes a site of restoration. A clinical procedure becomes a moment of ceremony. By Warm Kwila decentralising the dominant narrative, we make room for other ways of knowing, being and healing – not in opposition to evidence-based medicine, but as a complementary worldview that centres humanity.”

Javani focused on Greenlane Clinical Service Centre in central Auckland as a location for her proposed proof-of-concept. Through changes to the clinic’s design, she sought to leverage the transformative role architecture can play in healthcare and how it could be emphasised to address current imbalances through a culturally-sensitive approach. She says that one of the primary challenges was achieving a balance between traditional Māori design principles and contemporary architectural aesthetics. This required careful consideration and innovative design solutions to ensure both aspects were harmoniously integrated, and her Resene colour palette ended up playing a major role in achieving the effect she was after.

“Ensuring that the diverse palette of Resene colours worked together cohesively was another challenge,” she adds. “The earthy tones needed to complement one another without overwhelming the space, which involved meticulous planning and testing of different colour combinations in various lighting conditions.”

Javani used the free online Resene Colour Palette Generator to create her custom palette. “I uploaded images of whenua, harakeke, tukutuku panels and other taonga that spoke to healing and belonging. From there, I pulled colours that felt emotionally resonant, not just visually pleasing. It was important to me that the palette told a story – not in a loud or literal manner, but in a way that grounded the project in New Zealand and reflected a sense of calm, care and connection to place,” she says.

After comparing swatches in person at her local Resene ColorShop, Javani landed on a harmonious, thoughtful and tranquil palette of Resene Colorwood Teak, Resene Colorwood Matai, Resene Waterborne Woodsman Timberland, Resene Waterborne Woodsman Warm Kwila, Resene Brown Pod, Resene Soya Bean, Resene Shingle Fawn, Resene Moon Mist, Resene Touchstone and Resene Whiteout.

Her two interior wood stains, Resene Colorwood Teak and Resene Colorwood Matai were used to highlight and enhance timber elements, bringing warmth and a sense of history to the space. On the exterior, similarly deep Resene Waterborne Woodsman Timberland and Resene Waterborne Woodsman Warm Kwila were chosen to create a cohesive look. Earthy Resene Brown Pod was selected for interior accent walls and structural elements that needed to stand out.

“These deep browns anchor the colour scheme, representing the fertile soil and the foundation of the environment for accent walls or structural elements that need to stand out,” Javani explains.

To balance these stronger colours, several light and mid toned greens and greys were selected. Resene Soya Bean and Resene Shingle Fawn evoke dried grasses and leaves and add a gentle, organic feel to the overall palette. Resene Moon Mist adds an airy touch that creates a sense of space and lightness in the design while Resene Touchstone brings in a cool, calming influence, reminiscent of river stones and the serene feel of water. Resene Whiteout is used sparingly to highlight and contrast with the deeper hues, bringing clarity and a crisp finish to the design through a hue that represents purity and simplicity, ensuring the overall look remains clean and sophisticated.”

Javani also created a physical 1:50 model of her design coloured with Resene testpots. “Using Resene wood stains on the 1:50 model made me appreciate how texture and tone interact in physical space. The stains enhanced the wood grain in a way that made the model feel less like a scale replica and more like a material proposition. It also taught me to think beyond paint as surface and see it as part of a spatial experience. How it feels under light, how it sits next to timber and how it affects emotion all became part of the design logic,” she says.

“If the clinic were built, the interior palette would be placed with emotional intention. Resene Shingle Fawn and Resene Soya Bean would anchor waiting areas to help ease anxiety and make people feel held. Resene Moon Mist offers a softness that’s ideal for circulation spaces or wellness lounges, where you want lightness without sterility. Resene Whiteout works beautifully in treatment spaces, as its crispness is calming without being harsh – which helps patients feel at ease. Resene Touchstone brings a cool, mineral counterpoint. I’d use it sparingly in private recovery rooms or water-facing courtyards. For performance, I’d specify Resene ClinicalCote low odour washable finish in high-traffic or high-touch zones due to its antimicrobial finish and Resene Zylone Sheen in shared spaces for its breathable, waterborne, low-VOC qualities. Both of these products align philosophically with the project’s approach to holistic wellness.”

Through her research and design development, Javani made several important discoveries that she will carry into her career. “One of the most powerful lessons was how deeply space can carry values and how often mainstream architecture fails to question whose values it’s holding. I came into this research thinking about form and function, but I left thinking about whakapapa, temporality and ritual – even digging into my own whakapapa and learning about my own history. I also realised that reindigenising isn’t about simply referencing cultural aesthetics but fundamentally challenging the systems, timeframes and hierarchies that shape how we design and deliver care. That shifted the way I think about what a project brief can even be,” she reflects.

Judges for the Resene Total Colour Awards took notice of Javani’s passion for equity and thoughtful design and recognised her efforts with a Resene Total Colour Rising Star Colour Maestro Award. “Masterfully integrating health and community, this project emanates warmth and a sense of grounding that resonates with the land. In a world searching for wellbeing and mindfulness, the colour palette deftly achieves both,” they commented.

For more imagery from Javani’s thesis and other projects she’s completed, check out her portfolio at www.javanigovenderportfolio.my.canva.site/javani-govender.

Colours mentioned in this article

Products mentioned in this article

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