Studio 44
Art Life & Other Things
Samuel Hunter
This studio is available to students enrolled in ABPL90142 Studio C, ABPL90143 Studio D, and ABPL90115 Studio E.
Studio Description
Life, Art and Other Things is a studio that will explore spaces for creative industry in Melbourne’s inner city. The studio acknowledges the dual and oppositional sides at play within the arts sector; one materialising from the unbridled expression of the artist, and the other a commercial market that can seem at odds with community values and creative process. Both intrinsically value the other. This has led to a cyclical development in cities and a lasting impact on our neighbourhoods, that goes something like this…city prospers, city falls, artist moves in, city gentrifies, artist moves out…and so on.
Studio 44 is interested to look at a more sustainable integration of the arts in all markets. We are interested in a self-sustaining ‘Arts Forum’ where multiple arts-related activities support and feed into a repeatable system- without binding or restricting art practice.
The studio’s project will be situated at the former Clifton Hill Shot Tower. Through a rigorous examination of the existing building’s late 19th century industrial fabric, a significant renovation will be posed to house the new ‘Arts Forum’.
Studio Outcomes
Students will develop skills in research, critical positioning and return brief execution. Design is considered a method for developing these skills and short design esquisses will be used as a mode for research and discovery. Students can expect to be challenged with a complex array of both urban and socio-political contextual analysis, city-scale thinking and in juxtaposition, will learn how to scale these ideas into working architectural drawings.
Working in groups will be a component of the semester, demanding dialogue, understanding and negotiating different points of view to ultimately present a project that enables pluralism. Our studio seeks ideas that are speculative; we will help students develop a level of realism to produce final projects that sit somewhere between the real and imagined terrain.
Presentations and workshops with outside guests will compliment your regular design studio reviews. As per previous studio 44 classes, we take a special interest in critical representation, and post-digital drawing technique. There will be an extended drawing workshop that all students will attend to hone these skills.
Studio Leader
Samuel Hunter joined Architecture Associates as co-Director in 2022 after wrapping up a pivotal role as Principal at celebrated Australian practice Lyons, where he worked for over a decade. Sam is a practicing architect and has a deep interest in the cultural value embedded in architecture. He explores a range of contemporary ideas in our projects, through the lens of cultural engagement, the visual arts and research about the city.
He has extensive experience in projects for both the public and education sectors and has a particularly strong background in delivering projects within institutional settings. He has experience leading design teams on projects that range from small cultural entities to large-scale campus redevelopments
Schedule Tuesdays 18:15-21:15 and Fridays 15:15-18:15
Off-campus Activities Week 1 and mid-semester