2024

86533_Spatial Agency

  • The design studio is focussed on the development of housing design principles encompassing inclusion, accessibility, social, cultural, and environmental considerations.

    Students will have the opportunity to apply their design principles in the development of a series of schematic design proposals for housing located on the NSW South Coast, intended as intermediary accommodation options for Aboriginal people with a disability, transitioning to living at home.  

    Research and contextual analysis will form the foundations for creative exploration and testing in the design of spaces. Students will be challenged to engage with and negotiate the complexities of the design brief and stakeholder aspirations within the context of the community and site.

    Design outcomes should consider the local architectural vernacular, high-quality spatial aesthetics, and material sustainability. Proposals  must be socially and culturally responsive to the needs of the community, and consider environmental factors, to ensure seasonal variation, orientation, prevailing wind, local weather conditions, sustainable material choices and construction approaches are effectively addressed. The designs must be sensitive to the local landscape and support the social and cultural aspirations of the local Aboriginal community.

  • Through research and in collaboration with Elders and community in Wagga Wagga – Wiradjuri Country, students will investigate and design First Nations Youth housing accommodation for 10-17 year olds that are in contact with the justice system and are temporarily unable to return home, have unstable housing, or are experiencing homelessness (MFS 2024).

    Many of the young people who encounter police have experienced unstable family environments, intergenerational disadvantage and trauma (including violence, abuse, and neglect) (HealthInfoNet 2024), housing instability (homelessness and sleeping rough), disengagement from education, drug and alcohol addition, and physical, mental health, and cognitive disabilities. Many of these young people are at risk of being subject to legal orders that may lead to future interactions with the justice system when a social intervention would be more effective and appropriate in the early times of a young person’s troubles (Just Re-invest NSW 2022; Williams 2021).

    Drawing on precedents of at-risk youth housing and other compatible typologies that offer wrap-around services (health, education, cultural, employment) and working in collaboration with Elders and First Nations community in Wagga Wagga, students will develop new designs for safe, nurturing residential environments to support First Nations young people with complex needs, their carers and a support staff (Killgallon 2023).

    In their design research, students will become familiar with and reference First Nations ways of being including a developed understanding of the meaning of Kin, Country (Page, Memmott & Neale 2021), First Law (Spiers Williams 2022) and storytelling as a decolonising approach to the rules-based State justice system (Behrendt in Smith et al. 2019). They employ a strengths-based approach (Bryant 2022) and critical social theory of Whiteness (Cuff 2023, p. 6; Ravulo et al. 2023) to develop a theoretical underpinning of their design of supportive accommodation.

    The program will be developed over the semester through precedent analysis, design research and collaboration with Client and community. At the outset, using A Place to Go (Killgallon 2023; MFS 2024) as a starting reference; the program will provide for:

    • Short term accommodation for young people and their carers for up to 12 weeks

    • 24/7 staff support function

    • Group residential amenity – kitchen, dining, entertainment

    • Spaces for education, employment, social activities

    • Outdoor amenity – exercise and connecting with Country.

    To assist the clients into the future and additional to the specified studio assessment outputs, students will develop a set of design principles for First-Nations Youth housing in collaboration with and for Elders and community of Wagga Wagga.

  • The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted the office market, leading to a two-tiered market with deteriorating asset values and increasing vacancies. To address this, sustainable temporary adaptive reuse (STAR) is being explored as a low-level intervention to deal with underoccupancy in buildings. STAR can be temporary or lead to a permanent change of use. However, temporary adaptive reuse can have unintended environmental consequences, such as increased adaptation rates and construction waste. While temporary adaptive reuse has shown potential, it needs to be evaluated across different types of vacant spaces and combinations of viable new uses before becoming a mainstream option in the economic recovery from COVID-19. Buildings are responsible for 37% of energy-related greenhouse gas emissions, and construction is inherently carbon-intensive. Through the insertion of new uses into vacant spaces in existing buildings, we can build capacity for resilience, increase equity, and reduce the risk of building decay or premature demolition. Through sustainable design principles, STAR can keep buildings in use for longer. This will reduce premature obsolescence and demolition waste in landfills. Students will consider the ‘social’ rationale behind the spaces they design to help cities be more resilient, vibrant and equitable. Designing for existing office tenants or new communities can help cities meet the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). As STAR is temporary, the interventions need to consider how the space can be converted back to its original use sustainably. Consideration must be given to the circular economy - how can materials be reused or recycled at the end? STAR interventions for commercial buildings will likely have a tenure of less than 3 years, between 6-12 months on average, or be adopted more permanently. The environmental impact of STAR and the circularity of materials should be considered. Students will study existing office and co-working spaces, social outreach spaces and overall building programming to understand the context in which they will be working throughout the semester. This studio's output will be geared towards the launch of the STAR Toolkit, which is expected to be in July- September 2024 and hosted by UTS and the City of Sydney. Site 191 Thomas Street, Haymarket | C-grade office building, circa 1990 Brief Overall, the studio will produce a scheme for the entirety of the existing building, with individual teams focusing on the adaptive reuse of an existing floor. Themes Adaptive reuse, commercial interiors, circular economy, social outreach, mix-use

  • “Indigiearth provides premium bush foods made from authentic Australian native products that are ethically sourced and sustainably harvested. Sharon is passionate about connecting people with Aboriginal culture and heritage through native foods with Indigiearth now recognised as a leading NSW Indigenous business with the experience and knowledge of bush food. Owner and Founder, Sharon Winsor, has assisted Aboriginal communities to set up wild harvesting, business enterprises and purchases produce back from those communities.”

    Students will develop and design a project to give back to IndigiEarth to help imagine and establish a permanent home in Mudgee. Students will balance both conceptual and practical ways of thinking to ensure a (re)imagining and healing of site whilst grounded in realities of today.

    Image and Description Source: Indigiearth

  • Collaborating with Newtown Erskineville Anglican Church (NEAC), students will design one (or a series) of site specific community infrastructures that are both responsive to the needs and aspirations of NEAC, and their various stakeholders, and consider the local denizens of Newtown.

    This studio will work at three scales:

    the urban – masterplan (negotiating accessibility and connectivity within and around the site), architecture – the building and/or system (meeting the needs of NEAC including bike shed, community gathering spaces, bbq area and other), and

    the body – the interior (performativity and interaction between people, program and atmosphere)

    The site is Camperdown Cemetery. Located just behind the bustling King Street and bounded by Camperdown Memorial Rest Park, Camperdown Cemetery combines the scars of time and a contentious history with the imprint of contemporary Newtown community and life. The mixing of casual hang outs with cheeky drinks, with a kick around, families picnicking, dog walks and personal trainers display the unique nuances of the local community.

    This studio takes a community development approach to design practice enacted through a site visit in Week 2 and consultation with the NEAC in order to establish the requirements of the various community events/scenarios of each stakeholders and the accessibility issues across the site. Underpinned by a commitment to participatory design methods, this studio investigates a range of design processes and techniques in combination with typological specific caste studies and theoretical explorations about place, culture and the environment.

  • Partnering with the Merriman Local Aboriginal Land Council, Merriman’s Island design studio explores the capacity of infrastructure and housing to provide health enabling benefits to remote Indigenous communities of Australia.

    Centred on the Aboriginal community of Wallaga Lake located in Yuin Country, Merriman’s Island explores the transformative potential of architecture to contribute to Indigenous advancement and capacity building on the NSW South Coast.

    Merriman’s Island takes a community development approach to design practice enacted through a weeklong study tour to the NSW South coast in Week 5, to work with the Aboriginal community of Wallaga Lake to establish their housing and infrastructure requirements.

    Underpinned by a commitment to participatory design methods, Merriman’s Island investigates a range of design processes and techniques in combination with theoretical explorations about place, culture and the environment.

    The Brief:

    Preliminary consultation with the Merriman Local Aboriginal Land Council, has revealed a shortage of adequate housing, the need for community gathering space and aspirations for the establishment of an eco-tourism development.

    Working with a variety of land holdings owned by the Merriman Local Aboriginal Land Council, students are asked to design culturally responsive infrastructure and housing proposals informed by distinct socio-spatial activities, durability, climatic & seasonal variation and the threat of natural disasters.