Studio 06

Village Cities [anarchical subcultures]

Ursula Chandler

Studio Description

“Architecture is giving form to the places where people live. It is not more complicated than that, but also not easier than that” Alejandro Aravena We will look to propose an effective, affordable strategy that could meet the housing needs of Port Moresby. Listed in the top 5 ‘least’ desirable cities to live, the capitol of Papua New Guinea is plagued by violence, corruption and poverty. 45% of the cities residents live in informal settlements without security of title, and access to basic infrastructure like water, sanitation and power. As groups like the IFC attempt to step in where government housing agencies have failed, the city needs an additional 3,000 units per year to cope with growing rural urban migration. Highly exposed to the risks of destructive climate events, new housing models are to be affordable, climate resilient and reduce energy and water consumption. Through staged strategies, construction innovation and prefabrication, and larger urban and infrastructure planning we will produce robust and long-term proposals, which expand architecture from something which is ‘artistic’ to something which attempts to address the forces that shape our environments; economics, politics, society and geography.

Studio Outcome

The task is to incrementally upgrade an existing settlement [‘anarchical sub-culture’] through three structured stages; 1) Introduction of a sanitary block into an existing settlement, 2) Provision of a healthcare, education and community building 3) New housing proposal for up to 300 households. Your work will cover all scales, oscillating between the existing and emerging landscape and geography of your site, down to the construction detailing and fabrication of buildings and infrastructure. Siting will address either; climatic resilience and ecological context, ‘as found’ urban & cultural patterns and conditions Projects will be located within the current cultural and construction context of Port Moresby, using simple architectural solutions to explore complex urban conditions. Through detailed research, mapping and study of the physical and meta-physical site, we will produce drawings and physical models, which demonstrate how conceptual ideas translate from a larger urban strategies down to resolved architectural detail.

Studio Leader

Ursula has worked on projects across Australia, the United Kingdom and Africa. Prior to establishing Ursula Chandler Architects, Ursula was a Project Lead at Adjaye Associates [London] and worked for Robert Simeoni Architects and Bates Smart in Melbourne. The practice works on a range of projects types and scales and in 2019 was short-listed for the annual NGV Architecture Commission Competition. Ursula has led design studio at both Melbourne and Monash Universities and has previously taught architectural history and construction technology. Ursula graduated from the University of Melbourne and received the RAIA Bates Smart Graduate Prize, Robert Barber Award in Landscape Architecture and a Dean’s Honours Award.

Schedule Mondays 12:00-15:00 in MSD Room 448 and Wednesdays 18:15-21:15 in MSD Room 240

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