Exhibition: Grid, Corridor & Field
Proposals for a sustainable Melbourne
Master of Architecture Design Studios Exhibition
Tuesday 23 – Monday 29 June
The Open Space Gallery
Eckersleys
97 Franklin Street, Melbourne
Opening Tuesday 23rd June from 6pm
RSVP http://gridcorridorfield.eventbrite.com
Ninety percent of the infrastructure that will exist in 2020 is already built. As measures to combat global warming are debated in parliaments around the world. Three Masters of Architecture Design studios from The University of Melbourne have interrogated what roles our existing cities and building may play in a low-carbon future.
Studio leaders: An Australian Urban Dream – Scott Prz, Simon Goddard, Ralph Webster and James Whitten; Mess: Everyday Babylon – Simon Wollan and Ammon Bayerle; Parametric Urbanism – Associate Professor Justyna Karakiewicz and Matt Choot.
An Australian Urban Dream
Explores how new, higher - density living for Melburnians may crystallize in Carlton. Based upon linear urbanism models of medium-rise buildings being proposed along Melbourne's public transport corridors, the studio commenced by exploring broader ethical debates surrounding the meaning of the “ Great Australian Dream ." The students learnt about the ways in which we build in Australian cities and the social and cultural ritual that informs how we behave and inhabit our cities. Design problems to solve included how these typologies may respond to a specific Melbourne context and to the different constellations of Australian family and community life, what the aspirations of these groups currently are, and may be in the future. The design studio explored variations on mid-rise housing typologies between 4 and 6 stories. These have a rich history outside Australia, notably Europe and Japan but are only in their relative infancy here. The studio was an exciting way to explore and test ideas for a future Melbourne.
MESS: Everyday Babylon
The year is 2032, the car is no longer affordable, and radical changes in our systems of exchange have occurred. We’re not yet entirely sustainable, but we’re getting much closer. People live in a dispersed community network, where visible and invisible systems operate to sustain a diverse, comfortable and healthy way of life. There have been many changes, but this suburb looks strangely familiar…
Mess: Everyday Babylon is about reimagining the car dependent suburb of Rowville post peak oil, and to design sustainable future (sub-, ex-, dis-)urban forms in architecture, through two key concepts: the messiness of the everyday, and networked systems as an organisational model and creative tool.
PARAMETRIC URBANISM: Melbourne CBD for one million?
This studio explored issues arising from increasing the population within the Melbourne CBD area. We examined such facets as what makes suburban living attractive; how can distinctive opportunities be created with additional density, how can increased intensity be beneficial? Suburbs are no longer a sustainable model of living. The energy and time associated with transport, land consumption, water consumption and isolation are only few problems associated with sprawl. The alternatives to sprawl are still not attractive enough; people do not like living in towers, or apartments away from any contact with nature.
Drawing upon systems thinking, our objective was to propose a strategic approach to urban design to facilitate exploration of particular theories or priorities to explore their potential. Using components and data, we engaged with parametric design methods to explore conceptualization of relationships through unpredictable outcomes.