Henare New Zealand · Investment Proposal · March 2026
Te Wai Henare
Boutique Bathhouse
A boutique bathhouse in Russell, Bay of Islands — grounded in tikanga Māori, the mana of wai, and the identity of Māori in this rohe.
— Pou whakaaro — carved by Ngāpuhi tohunga whakairo
01 — The Project
A place of genuine
meaning
Te Wai Henare is a boutique bathhouse in Russell, Bay of Islands — a project by Henare New Zealand, developed in partnership with Ngāpuhi cultural advisors and Mason St Architecture.
Te Wai Henare — 'the water of Henare' — will offer a ritual bathing experience in a purpose-designed facility embedded in the native bush landscape above Pomare Bay. The concept draws on three traditions: Māori tikanga around wai (water as a source of life, purification, and spiritual connection), Japanese onsen ritual, and Scandinavian heat-and-cold therapy.
The architecture will be quiet, material-rich, and designed as an extension of its landscape rather than an imposition on it. Cultural narrative — carved pou, structural posts, narrative panels — is developed in genuine collaboration with Ngāpuhi carvers and cultural advisors. This dimension is central to the project's identity and its market differentiation.
"The bathhouse is not a commercial amenity. It is a place of passage — built not as a resort facility, but as a place of genuine meaning."
Mana Henry — Founder, Henare New Zealand
At a Glance
Location
Russell, Bay of Islands
Maximum Capacity
12 guests
Building Footprint
250–370 m²
Target Opening
Late 2027
Concept Stage
Design Brief Issue 1.9
Architect
Mason St Architecture
Cultural Advisors
Ngāpuhi iwi representatives, kaumatua, and tohunga whakairo engaged from concept stage.
The Henare Brand
Henare New Zealand was founded by Mana Henry, who grew up in Northland. The business currently operates four private coastal lodges, guided horse trekking, and boat chartering across Northland.
02 — Te Ara o Wai
The Path
of Water
The bathing sequence follows the journey of wai: from the sky, through the earth, into the sea. Each space carries a corresponding concept from te ao Māori and from the wai cycle itself. Guests are free to move in their own order — the architecture makes the suggested path intuitive without making it mandatory.
Waiariki — The Bathing Sequence
Te Ūnga
Arrival
Guests approach on foot through the existing native bush. The entry threshold is marked by carved pou — the first voice of Ngāpuhi in the building. To cross this threshold is to acknowledge where you are and why. Inside, a composed reception space: a low timber counter, robes and towels issued, direct visual connection to the bush. The transition from the outside world begins here.
Pou whakaaro — carved by Ngāpuhi tohunga whakairo
Whakarite
Preparation
In the concept of whakarite, preparation is not merely practical — it is a making-ready of the self. Changing rooms are generous and private. Dark tōtara joinery with carved koru locker doors. Harakeke-woven bench cushions. Dark slate stone floor. Individual hooks for robes. A pre-pool shower rinse area with dark stone walls and a rain shower head. The space is quiet, unhurried, and private.
Koru panels — carved locker doors marking the passage to the waiariki
Te Ahi
Sauna & Steam
Te ahi — fire — is one of the great transforming forces in te ao Māori. Heat precedes renewal. The sauna is low-lit, warm in material, and dimensioned for human presence rather than spatial effect. Dark tōtara benches, a carved feature wall of koru and manaia rising through the heat. Guests add water to the stones — the act of offering, of activating the ahi. Adjacent: a steam room of dark stone tile and dense white kohu, lower temperature and higher humidity. The two heat spaces are distinct in character but share the same threshold.
Pou tūāhu — carved feature wall of koru and manaia
Kohu
Steam Room
Kohu is mist — the breath of the land, the moment before rain. The steam room is tiled in dark stone, lower in temperature than the sauna but higher in humidity. Tiered dark timber benches. Dense white steam fills the upper space. A carved koru and manaia panel emerges from the stone wall. A carved stone vessel holds the water. The atmosphere is elemental — earth, water, heat, breath.
Koru and manaia panel — carved into the stone wall
Huka
Cold Plunge
Huka is the white water — the active, alive edge of the wai cycle. Cold water does not merely shock the tinana — it clarifies it. The tinana is made present, the wairua sharpened, tapu beginning to lift. Dark tōtara timber walls with visible grain. Rough-hewn dark slate stone floor. A carved pare lintel frames the entry. Dense native bush — kahikatea, ponga, harakeke — fills the full-height glazing.
Pare — carved lintel framing the entry to the plunge
Wai Māori
Warm Soak Pool
Secondary pool at lower temperature (36–38°C). More intimate in character than the main pool — sheltered, enclosed, with a planting enclosure of harakeke, ponga, and kawakawa visible through full-height glazing. Adjacent to the cold plunge, sharing the same garden view. Where Huka clarifies, Wai Māori holds. A kōwhaiwāhai frieze runs the full width of the upper wall. May be designed as an indoor pool with controlled light, or as a sheltered outdoor pool with planting enclosure.
Kōwhaiwāhai frieze — continuous pattern along the upper wall
Wai Ora
Immersion
Wai ora is living water — water that carries rongōā, that restores mauri, that reconnects tinana and wairua with the world beyond the self. The main hot pool is the heart of the building. Large communal pool at 38–40°C, immersed in native bush. A carved pou tūtū stands at the water's edge, reflected in the still dark surface. The relationship between the pool and the sky above — the canopy, the light, the rain — is the primary spatial experience.
Pou tūtū — guardian at the water's edge
Okioki
Rest
The space of noa — the return to balance after the waiariki passage. Okioki is not passive rest; it is the tinana and wairua settling into a restored state of mauri. Reclined timber lounges, a fire element, low-lit and quiet — no speakers, no screens. Woven harakeke matting underfoot. Sliding glass doors open onto a timber terrace and native bush beyond. The quality of material and light in this space is critical — it is where the restoration of mauri is completed, and where the tinana is returned to itself.
Pare — carved lintel marking the threshold of noa
Extended Programme
Alongside the waiariki sequence, Te Wai Henare includes two additional spaces that operate independently and extend the facility's offering to the wider community.
Whāre Rongōā
Treatment Rooms
Two treatment rooms — one dedicated to massage and mirimiri, one to facial and skin treatments. Each room is leased to independent Ngāpuhi rongōā Māori practitioners or approved bodywork practitioners from the Bay of Islands region. Each room features a professional treatment table, a dark timber vanity with stone basin sink, rongōā product shelving, warm recessed LED lighting, and a carved koru threshold panel at the entry. Kawakawa, harakeke, and other rongōā plants are present as working materials, not decoration. Full-height glazing opens directly onto native bush.
Koru panel — carved threshold at the room entry
Whāre Kāori
Movement Studio
A dedicated studio space leased to local instructors for Mahi Hā, pilates, yoga, and meditation. Mahi Hā — the conscious direction of hā — is a primary and equal function of this space. Woven harakeke matting covers the entire floor — a material that connects the practice to the land beneath it. Two kaitiaki pou stand at either side of the room; a continuous koru and kōwhaiwāhai frieze runs the full perimeter at the ceiling. Full-height glazing opens the space directly onto native bush. The room is ceremonial in scale and grounded in tikanga.
Kaitiaki pou — guardian of the space and those within it
03 — Cultural Narrative
"Wai is never simply water. In te ao Māori, wai carries whakapapa, spiritual authority, and the memory of place. The architecture must hold this understanding without reduction."
Te Ara o Wai —
The Path of Water
Cultural integration in this project begins with whakapapa, not design. The proposed site above Pomare Bay is not a neutral location — it carries memory, relationship, and obligation. Before concept sketches are produced, the architect and client engage Ngāpuhi cultural advisors, kaumatua, carvers, and rongōā practitioners in a structured hui process.
Te Ara o Wai — the path of water — is the organising narrative of the building. It is not a theme applied after the fact. It is the framework within which every spatial, material, and cultural decision is made. The bathing sequence follows the journey of wai: from the sky (ua, rain), through the earth, into the sea (the place of release and renewal).
Carved elements — pou whakaaro at the entry, structural pou tūtū within the bathing hall, and papa panels — are developed in close collaboration with the tohunga whakairo. The carving programme is not an addition to the building. It is its foundation.
Design Principles
Sequence over Space
The building is organised around a passage, not a programme. The sequence follows the arc of tapu toward noa: the tinana arriving in a state of weight and restriction, moving through heat, cold, and immersion, and arriving at rest with mauri restored.
Landscape as Architecture
The bathhouse sits within an existing native bush setting. The design task is one of careful insertion: working with the existing canopy, understorey, and ground plane rather than clearing and replanting.
Material Honesty
Materials are used in their natural state. Timber weathers. Stone holds the cold. Concrete absorbs moisture and light. There is no applied finish or decorative layer that masks structure or material.
Cultural Coherence
This project begins from a Māori worldview. Te ao Māori — and specifically Ngāpuhi tikanga around wai — is the primary design lens. Ngāpuhi cultural advisors, kaumatua, and the tohunga whakairo are not consultants to the design process — they are authors of it.
Kaitiakitanga
Kaitiakitanga — the obligation of guardianship — is a design principle, not an aspiration. This building sits on land that carries whakapapa. It draws on wai that is not its own. Each of these acts carries responsibility.
Reference Cultures
Māori — Tikanga Wai
The cultural and spiritual significance of water in Māori life: wai as source of life, purification, and connection to atua. Bathing as ritual, not recreation. The primary lens.
Japanese — Onsen
The Japanese bathing ritual as a model of sequential thermal experience: undressing, cleansing, immersion. The architecture of onsens: low-lit, tactile, always close to water.
Scandinavian — Sölvikens
The physiological and psychological benefits of heat-cold cycling. The culture of sauna as social and restorative practice. Raw timber, direct relationship with the natural environment.
NZ Coastal — Contemporary
The architectural language of contemporary New Zealand bush buildings: robust, material-rich, modest in scale. The particular light quality of native bush — filtered, dappled, green-toned.
04 — Spatial Programme
The Spaces
Total enclosed building area: 250–370 m². Outdoor bathing and landscape areas are additional. The programme is organised into four zones, resolved in a clear sequence without requiring guests to backtrack. Carved elements are woven throughout — not as decoration, but as the cultural foundation of each space.
250–370
m² enclosed
12
max. guests
4
carved elements
Carving Programme
The carvings are not
ornament. They are structure.
Every carved element in Te Wai Henare is developed in direct collaboration with Ngāpuhi tohunga whakairo (master carvers). The carving programme begins with whakapapa — the genealogical narrative of the land, the water, and the people of this rohe — and resolves into specific forms for each space.
Pou tūtū (structural carved posts) in the main bathing hall bear the roof as they carry whakapapa. Papa panels in the changing rooms hold the narrative of preparation. A carved pare (lintel) marks the passage into rest. Each element is marked with kōkōwai — red ochre — as a living presence, not an object.
Carved Elements by Space
Entrance threshold
Pou whakaaro
Two freestanding carved pou mark the arrival threshold. The first voice of Ngāpuhi in the building.
Motifs
Manaia, tāngata, kōkōwai
Main bathing hall
Pou tūtū
Structural posts within the bathing hall are carved — bearing the roof and the whakapapa of the land.
Motifs
Koru, ika, wai
Changing rooms
Papa panels
Carved wall panels in the changing rooms carry narrative of preparation — the making-ready of the self.
Motifs
Koru, tāngata, hau
Relaxation threshold
Pare (lintel)
A carved lintel marks the passage into the space of rest — the arc from tapu to noa made visible.
Motifs
Manaia, noa, aho
Papa panel — changing room
Koru spirals and kōkōwai — the carving as living presence, not object.
Full Spatial Programme
Arrival / Reception
Entry threshold, booking check-in, towel and robe issue. Composed transition space. Direct visual connection to the bush beyond.
Pou whakaaro — Two carved pou flank the entrance threshold — the first act of cultural authorship.
Changing Rooms × 2
Two separate changing rooms. Individual lockers, bench seating, shower for pre-pool rinse. Timber, stone, quality joinery. Calm and unhurried.
Papa panels — Carved papa panels line the interior walls — whakapapa narrative in the space of preparation.
Sauna
Cedar-lined. Wood-fired or electric. Low-lit, warm in material. Entry through a small vestibule retains heat. The heat is the only event.
Steam Room
Adjacent to sauna. Lower temperature, higher humidity. An alternative quality of enclosure.
Cold Plunge
Immediately adjacent to sauna exit. Chilled water ≤11°C. Designed for swift, intentional entry and exit. May be indoor-outdoor.
Main Hot Pool
The centrepiece. 38–40°C. Strong connection to surrounding bush. The canopy, filtered light, sounds of native environment are all part of the experience.
Pou tūtū — Structural carved pou tūtū stand within the bathing hall — bearing the roof and carrying whakapapa.
Warm Soak Pool
Secondary pool at 36–38°C. More intimate in character. May be designed as an indoor pool with controlled light, or sheltered outdoor pool.
Relaxation Area
The space of noa — the return to balance. Reclined timber lounges. A fire element. Low-lit, quiet. Access to fresh air or outdoor terrace.
Carved lintel — A carved pare (lintel) marks the threshold into the space of rest — the passage from tapu to noa.
Treatment Rooms × 2
Leased to independent Ngāpuhi rongōā Māori practitioners. Designed to support rongōā Māori, mirimiri, and related practices. Acoustic separation required.
Mahi Hā Studio
Dedicated studio for Mahi Hā, pilates, yoga, and movement. Sprung floor. Acoustic isolation. Independently accessible. Leased to local instructors.
Material Palette
Concrete
Structural walls, pool surrounds, floor slabs
Board-formed or smooth. Absorbs moisture and light. Ages with dignity.
Dark-Stained Timber
External wall cladding
Dark oil or charred finish (shou sugi ban). Weathers to black in coastal conditions. Low maintenance.
Stone
Pool edge, floor surfaces, thresholds
Slate or schist. Holds the cold. Slip-resistant in wet areas. Tactile and grounding.
Cedar
Sauna lining, interior bench detail
Traditional sauna material. Warm, aromatic, dimensionally stable in heat.
Structural Timber
Roof structure, exposed beams
Glulam or LVL. Expressed structure — the beauty of the building comes from the quality of its parts.
Native Timber (Carved)
Pou, panels, feature joinery
Tōtara, kauri (sustainably sourced or salvaged). Specified with tohunga whakairo. Finished with kōkōwai.
08 — Enquire
Begin a
conversation
Te Wai Henare is a place of genuine meaning — built for those who understand the value of what is being created here. If this project speaks to you, we would welcome a conversation.
To explore the investment proposal — including the commercial case, funding structure, and development programme — visit the Investment Proposal page.
Contact
Mana Henry
Founder, Henare New Zealand