urban occupation : brunswick

a design studio at the School of Architecture and Design, RMIT University, Melbourne

One of the essential characteristics of urbanity is public space. Freely accessible for everyone at any given time it is as much an aesthetic and architectural space as it is a political and social place. Public space is threatened through commercialization and privatization, often driven by the lack of public financial resources. These conditions have transformed public space from a political space and place of community and identity to either abandoned or commercialized anonymous non-places.

The design proposal within this studio deals with aesthetic and architectural qualities as much as it interrogates the political and social conditions. We want to create a space that allows for political ownership, as well as for adaptation and change in order to create a place with multiple identities, and a diversity of urban life and active inhabitation.

The studio emphasizes process as a crucial part in the development of design proposals. We share our observations through documentation of the given scenario, analysis, discussion and reflection on the given condition. Installations, events and provocations reflect our ideas and create a new engagement with the place. Design Scenarios are developed through collages and lead to design proposals that prioritize the experience of a place, the creation of identity, and individual and collective occupation.

Visits:  ok ok / The landing /  3RRR / Ceres / Tom Nicholson / Moreland City Council /