Studio E/07
Beneath the Gantry
Gumji Kang and Henry Williams
Studio Description
The manufactured physicality of cities and the intensive material demands of contemporary human life stand in contrast with the immaterial labour of knowledge economies. For two centuries places of production have been migrating to the peripheries of our cities, addressing detrimental environmental impacts while disrupting many cultural and economic symbioses. In this research-driven studio students will critically appraise the challenges and opportunities of the reintegration of places of production into cities.
Studio Outcomes
An initial research phase will encourage students to consider several theoretical/analytical viewpoints, each framing the project in a unique way;
Live/work utopian speculation from the Industrial Revolution to the present;
the evolution of industrial typologies;
urban human ecosystems
In parallel, students will work collaboratively to prepare a detailed investigation of the existing site, revealing evolving patterns of occupation and activity, a taxonomy of physical forms and traits, and a record of diverse narratives.
Following these two preparatory phases students will undertake an individual design project within the broader studio site. The students will be guided through the studio to develop architectural tectonic and material understanding with the support from studio partners.
Studio Leader
Gumji Kang is an architect based in Melbourne and has taught a number of architectural design studios at the University of Melbourne. Her interest lies in the architectural design strategies and interventions in the public space, and public architecture with a strong focus on research-driven practice.
Henry Williams is a multi-disciplinary designer based in Adelaide and Melbourne working across architecture, exhibition, and object design. He previously worked for Sir David Chipperfield and Stanton Williams Architects in London, and between 2019 and 2021 was Architecture Lead at Snøhetta’s Australasian studio. Henry sits on the Design Review Panel at the Office for Design and Architecture SA (ODASA).
Readings and References
Aldo Rossi, The Architecture of the City (MIT Press, 1984)
Anthony Vidler, Claude-Nicolas Ledoux: Architecture and Utopia in the Era of the French Revolution (Birkhauser, 2021)
John Ruskin, Unto This Last (J. Wiley & Sons, 1872)
Robert Owen, A New View of Society and Other Writings (Penguin, 1991)
Schedule:
Thursday 12pm-6pm MSD 141
Saturday 12pm-6pm MSD 141
Off-Site Activities: TBA