On Friday the 20th of March 2020, the PHINZ board gathered online with Kiharoa Milroy (Tūhoe and Ngāti Whakaue) for a small ceremony to accept the gift of a Te Reo Māori name for our organisation: Te Tōpūtanga o te Whare Korou ki Aotearoa. It was a touching ceremony and the board was very grateful to receive such a beautiful and fitting name. We feel that the name Dr. Wolfgang Fiest was first looking for back in 1991 to truly express the meaning of “Passive House” has finally been discovered.
Here is what the name Te Tōpūtanga o te Whare Korou ki Aotearoa means:
Te Tōpūtanga = The Institute (association, collective, grouping, organisation, ref)
o te Whare = of the house
Korou = energy/vitality/desire/aspiration (ref)
ki Aotearoa = of New Zealand
As one board member put it:
A wish for all of us. The healthy home that we live in will support our families to thrive, grow and prosper. Our aspiration is that it is commonplace for all of New Zealand to have this opportunity.
