Māori construction technique proves resilient in earthquake testing

21 May 2026

Te ao Māori, Faculty of Engineering and Design, Sustainable impact, Doctoral

An ancestral Māori construction technique once used in whare before Pākehā contact has shown strong seismic resilience in new research, led by civil engineering doctoral candidate Sonny Vercoe.

Vercoe (Te Arawa, Ngāti Tahu, Tūwharetoa, Raukawa, Te Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi, Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Pāhauwera, Ngāi Tahu) is the first author of a new study published in the International Journal of Architectural Heritage.

The research investigates the seismic performance of mīmiro, an endangered construction technique connected to tārai waka, or waka construction.

Carried out in collaboration with Ngāti Ira, the mana whenua where the testing took place, the study brings together structural engineering, mātauranga Māori and kōrero tuku iho to better understand how Māori buildings were strengthened by ancestral design.

"Mīmiro is understood to have been used to post-tension whare," says Vercoe.

"If you imagine a rope running across the roof and being tightened into the ground, the beams and posts lock more firmly into place and the whare becomes stiffer. So when an earthquake occurs, the mīmiro helps limit the shaking."

The technique uses interlocking structural supports, with rope lashed and tightened through the building to increase strength and stability.

The study set out to test something long held in kōrero tuku iho: that mīmiro helped make whare more resilient during seismic movement.

The results were significant.

"The seismic field testing showed the structure withstood the 1000-year design earthquake scenario and the 2500-year maximum credible earthquake scenario," says Vercoe.

"This tells us our ancestors built seismically resilient buildings. Although this is something long understood, having it supported by scientific evidence is impactful."

My field is structural engineering, and I am chasing mātauranga from our tūpuna that is resurfacing now through this kaupapa.

Sonny Vercoe, doctoral candidate Faculty of Engineering and Design | Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland

Raised around the marae and educated through kōhanga reo and kura kaupapa Māori, Vercoe says kawa and tikanga are central to the way he approaches engineering research.

"As a pā kid, staking kawa and tikanga into the approach is non-negotiable," he says.

"In the earlier years of my PhD, a significant amount of effort was invested in collaboration with Māori organisations, kanohi ki te kanohi engagement, and whakawhanaungatanga with marae committees and the wider hāpori."

That approach takes time and care, he says, but it is essential when research is connected to Māori communities, knowledge and built heritage.

"My PhD is founded on genuine engagement, and it takes considerable time, commitment and resources."

As first author, Vercoe's contribution spanned the full study, from trialling seismic loading systems off-site, to undertaking field testing, developing numerical models and simulations, analysing results and preparing the research for publication.

He says his main supervisor, Professor Jason Ingham, has been an important part of his development as a structural engineering researcher.

"A big part of my technical development has come through Jason's supervision and mentorship," says Vercoe.

"He is a strong advocate for Māori engineering students wanting to pursue higher education."

The study forms the final chapter of Vercoe's thesis. While most of his doctoral research focuses on seismic assessment, the final portion focuses on seismic performance.

"The more mātauranga we reveal for seismic assessment, the more we can understand seismic performance," he says.

"Similarly, the more mātauranga we reveal for seismic performance, the more we can improve seismic assessment. These two have a complementary relationship."

Vercoe hopes the findings will help move mīmiro from an endangered construction technique into one that can be more widely understood, revitalised and potentially used in future Māori buildings and housing.

"Now that the technique has been shown to provide seismic resilience, it would be good to see it adopted in wharenui," he says.

The study also identified that modern materials and engineering could further enhance the seismic performance of mīmiro.

For marae, seismic resilience is not only a technical issue. Vercoe says wharenui are gathering places for whānau and hāpori, so their safety, strength and longevity matter.

"These are places for people to gather, so you have to make sure the buildings are resilient," he says.

"It is about the safety of our whānau and making sure these are places the community can continue to go to."

Beyond publication, Vercoe hopes the research contributes to wider recognition of Māori engineering knowledge and inspires more Māori students to see themselves in the field.

"I wish more people understood that there is enormous potential to be uncovered through Māori construction from way back," he says.

[PULL QUOTE] "We are just starting to uncover it. My field is structural engineering, and I am chasing mātauranga from our tūpuna that is resurfacing now through this kaupapa."

He says the work challenges narrow ideas of traditional Māori construction as only cultural or heritage practice.

Even if mīmiro is first adopted in non-structural ways, its physical presence could still carry meaning for marae restoration, upgrades and future design.

"For marae, it could mean recognising this as a traditional technology once used within our whare, and discussing whether there is a place for it in future generations of wharenui."

For Vercoe, the research is about affirming Māori knowledge systems, which have always carried technical, scientific and practical depth.

"Much of the innovation emerging today is not entirely new. For a lot of it, parallels can be drawn with kōrero tuku iho, now applied using modern technology," he says.

Read the full study here, published in the International Journal of Architectural Heritage, which explores the seismic resilience of mīmiro and the technical strength of tūpuna Māori construction knowledge.

Media contact

Te Rina Ruka-Triponel | Kaitohutohu Pāpāho Māori [email protected]

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