One of the great privileges I enjoy as an architect working for the Institute is the ability to attend the National Conference. This annual gathering of the profession provides a valuable opportunity to take time out from invariably high-pressure work environments to consider what we do from different perspectives and to connect professionally and personally with our peers.
This social interaction is a key component to our ability to learn at these events. I heard neuroscientist Dr Fiona Kerr speak the week before, and her presentation was illuminating. Humans retain the ability to bulk up our brains through exercise, learning new things, eating correctly, sleeping well and human connection. All are vital to our ability to be creative, complex thinkers with mature social, emotional and task thinking capabilities.
So, what did I learn at the national conference? The conference theme ‘Edge’, aimed to consider the social, cultural and physical factors shaping the rapidly growing cities, with a focus on coastal (edge) cities in the Asia Pacific region. Issues of climate, local identity, population density and health were all explored. The clear pressures experienced by many cities subject to explosive population growth and urbanisation, coupled with developer driven objectives were starkly contrasted against the more modestly scaled regional projects presented by both international and local speakers. The importance of designing for people and place was a central message at all scales, although the opportunities to do so at the mega scale were constrained by the sheer size of the environments being created.
This caused me to consider the objectives of the Adelaide Contemporary (AC) competition and the opportunities this project creates for Adelaide. The brief places importance on place, people, social interaction and cultural engagement from both indigenous and European perspectives. It seeks to create a key attractor to Adelaide as well as a focus for local activity and a showcase for the important collection held by the Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA).
In the public presentations by four of the teams, a common theme was clear – that AC would be the centre of culture for the city, providing a venue that would bring together locals and visitors alike. There was exploration of the context within which AC would exist and how it would spatially and visually connect with the city in all presentations. The proposals were bold, varied and highly resolved, and it was an important opportunity to gain an understanding of the underlying principles and thinking that informed the designs.
However, I was disappointed that none of the presentations discussed the way in which AC would connect with the city at an activation level; of how this major development would interact with places and people outside its perimeter. Would it give back or take away from the wider city? How would it interface with the remaining ORAH site, Botanic Gardens, East End and the cultural precinct, including the AGSA which spawned it? What prevents it from having the impact of a shopping mall on a local high street? What will make AC a driver of broad activation and vibrancy within the city context?
With the winner of the competition announced, it will be interesting to track how this project develops. While it faces significant political and financial challenges, it is to be hoped that the significant investment of thought and skill made through the competition is not wasted. I extend my congratulations to Diller Scofidio + Renfro and Woods Bagot for winning the competition and wish them all the best in addressing the challenges that lie ahead.
EDGE – A personal perspective
The conference theme ‘Edge’, aimed to consider the social, cultural and physical factors shaping the rapidly growing cities, with a focus on coastal (edge) cities in the Asia Pacific region. Issues of climate, local identity, population density and health were all explored.
There were stark contrasts between the work presented by global practices Safdie Architects and Steven Holl Architects and local practitioners Sue Dugdale and Lindy Atkins. Safdie and Roberto Bannura from Holl’s Beijing office, showed billion-dollar mega developments, predominantly in China, and spent much of their presentations explaining how they created public space, often 50 floors above ground level, to provide social connection for those working and living in these massive, city within the city agglomerations. There was discussion around how these developments connected back into the surrounding urban form, but the opportunity for them to become self-contained, exclusive compounds was clear. I couldn’t help reflecting on how far Moshe Safdie had come from his exploration of inclusive, welcoming mass housing through the Habitat project.
What conclusions will archaeologists in a 1000 years’ time, reach regarding the society that created these developments, one of which had 18 basement levels of manufacturing topped by tens of thousands of square meters of floor area in a cluster of interconnected towers, the bridges home to sky gardens, pools and other leisure facilities? Will those employed in the basement ever feel welcomed in the pleasure gardens above?
In contrast, Dougdale presented work from her Alice Springs practice. Thoughtful, people centred projects that aim to connect people and place at a very different scale. She discussed the dual indigenous and migrant communities that create the edge condition specific to Alice Springs and how she works to provide value and quality in these potentially challenging conditions. Her connection to, understanding of and respect for end users and location were powerful and provided a sense of place and respect for occupants that was hard to envisage in the mega city projects, with their significant issues of density, scale and lack of cultural connection.
Likewise, Atkins’ work is highly personal and specific to place. She interspersed discussion of predominantly residential projects on the Sunshine Coast with explorations of the collaborative installations Bark Architects undertakes with architecture students, using prefabricated, modular systems to encourage examination of coastal environments. Again, the scale of this work provides the opportunity to create deep and personal connections to place and people.
In between the mega scale and the regional was Borja Ferrater from Office of Architecture Barcelona (OAB), whose work is both international and highly specific to local culture and conditions. Ferrater articulated the concern that OAB have in working outside their native Catalonia and demonstrated how they apply knowledge gained in one context within different environments and cultures. The resulting projects are both engaging and engaged, challenging conventional developer driven typologies and enriching the communities in which they are located.
The discussion was also informed by presentations from epidemiologist Mark Stevenson and wayfinding specialist Sarah Manning from Space Agency. The key message from these contributions for me was that connected urban environments provide better health outcomes that sprawling, low density development. Access to green space also has demonstrated benefit. Medium density, mixed use development with considered public spaces would appear to be the ultimate urban environments for liveability and wellbeing given these findings.
The conference concluded with a highly entertaining and personal presentation by ‘Lek’ Mathar Bunnag. His pride in his cultural heritage, his engaging persona and his passion for beautiful environments were infectious. Even if I never have the opportunity to stay in the luxury resorts he designs, I came away refreshed and enlivened by this uplifting exposition of his carefully curated and executed work.
So, what do I take away from the conference? That we are privileged in Adelaide to be able to develop our city without the unyielding pressures of density and population growth that define mega cities. That we need to build our understanding of what is unique and valued in our context as a community so that we collectively own this vision and can clearly communicate it to those who are responsible for development into the future. As a small city we have the opportunity to preserve and develop our own unique cultural identity.
Nicolette Di Lernia
SA Chapter Executive Director
12/06/2018