The Living Frame – Porirua

The Living Frame is a regenerative pavilion in Porirua that promotes kai sovereignty, environmental stewardship, and community connection.

Its kaupapa supports residents with planter boxes, soil, seeds, and simple growing guides to cultivate kai at home. Once the seedlings sprout, locals bring their boxes to the pavilion’s shared vertical garden, exchanging them for new ones and fostering a cycle of food sharing, education, and social connection. Rainwater is channelled through the tower to nourish plants in a self-sustaining system.

Designed for disassembly and reuse, the pavilion’s modular timber frame and untreated plywood planter boxes employ screw-free joinery, allowing the structure to be easily reconfigured or relocated with minimal waste. This adaptive, low-impact approach directly responds to Porirua’s urban challenges of landfill pressure and supermarket dependency.

The Living Frame is both a practical and symbolic structure — demonstrating how regenerative design can cultivate resilience, community, and care for Te Taiao.