In New Zealand’s Te Urewera forest, the Maori tribe Ngāi Tūhoe wrestle with the Crown for autonomy in their ancestral homeland. Amid prodigious negotiations for settlement and stewardship rights, the Tūhoe embark on a landmark architectural project: a Living Building community center. To qualify as a Living Building, the structure must give more energy than it takes. The project would be the first in New Zealand and one of a small group worldwide, including the Bullitt Center in Seattle, which was named the most sustainable commercial building in the world.

The new community center would symbolize the tribe’s connection to the land and new hope for the future… however, not everyone is convinced that this symbolic gesture is worth the money. As the project moves along, a disconnect between the Tūhoe and the architects becomes evident. In these fragile moments, the power of architecture to bring people together shines through.