Thursday 4 June 2009 – 7.00pm RMIT Building 50, Orr St, Carlton Entry by gold coin donation.. refreshments provided.
Brendan Jones (Antarctica and RMIT), Ian Watts (Antarctica) and students from the 2008 Home away from home design studio.
Brendan and Ian will present three challenging design studios run at RMIT since 2007 that tackle the idea of engaging the professional practice of architecture, the academic insititution and the community, and reflect, with the help of students, upon the lessons learned.
Antarctica began its work in the area of general practice and primary care in 2007 with the RMIT studio and subsequent architectural workbook, Rebirth of a clinic. This work was run in conjunction with the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP), and this association led to a call for expressions of interest from Aboriginal Health Centres around Australia for the 2008 studio Home away from home – Architecture for healthy Aboriginal communities. The studio’s broad ambition was to help “close the gap” in the health status of Aboriginal people, compared with other social demographics. It required 10 students to work collaboratively, well beyond standard academic requirements, and produce a design for the Ampilatwatja Medical Centre located in a remote area of the Northern Territory. The group was projected into a seemingly infinite landscape and then placed in an intense and fragile community. They responded with a respectful, believable, working piece of architecture.
Seeking Asylum is the current studio being run at RMIT and explores the architectural issues of responding to the social, housing and health needs of people with severe mental health problems.
