Gather connects people and places through design.
WHO IS GATHER
Gather is led by Wendy Hoddinott, a registered landscape architect who specialises in meaningful ways to connect people and places through design.
I have over 16 years’ experience in professional practice - my expertise ranges from involvement in larger multi-disciplinary public space projects to developing innovative co-design strategies alongside communities.
I am deeply committed to collaborative design and have worked alongside schools, community groups, local government and government agencies throughout Aotearoa. My PhD research explored the relationship between design expertise and public participation, discovering that the best results occur when communities are involved in the same creative, collaborative and mutual learning process as the designer.
I am a passionate advocate for meaningful engagement with tamariki and rangatahi. In 2020, I established Gather Foundation, a registered Charitable Trust that provides opportunities for tamariki and rangatahi to be meaningfully involved in the design of their communities.
Through Gather Landscape Architecture, I design and deliver programmes for the Foundation, empowering children and young people to gain confidence to become active citizens who feel they can affect positive change in their schools, neighbourhoods and communities.
Experience, academic qualifications, awards and publications
Seeds podcast with Steven Moe on my work in collaborative design.
2022 Resene NZILA Award for Place Cadets, a child-centred participatory design project with Phillipstown Community Hub.
UN Sustainable Development Goals
Two Sustainable Development Goals are the foundation for these projects
Target 11.3: Ensure meaningful participation and communication in public space design
Target 11.4: Protect and enhance cultural and natural heritage
Target 11.7: Provide inclusive and accessible green and public spaces
Target 17.7: Encourage effective partnerships
Clients and collaborators
GATHER FOUNDATION
Gather Foundation empowers Ōtautahi’s tamariki and rangatahi to co-design outdoor environments in their schools, neighbourhoods and communities.
Wendy established Gather Foundation after the success of Place Cadets, a two week school holiday programme that demonstrated the value of engaging children as active researchers and designers in their local neighbourhood.
Here’s a short documentary about Place Cadets by John Sellwood of Telling Lives, and an article published by Landscape Architecture Aotearoa.
Wendy works with Gather Foundation to develop child-centric design programmes, drawing on children and young people’s knowledge and lived experiences, so that the final outcome is a reflection of their aspirations, rather than adult assumptions of the places they want to live and play.
