Studio 3/01

(Re) Imagining the Saltwater Wharf Precinct

Jillian Walliss

Studio Description

Located at the west end of Collins Street, Collins Wharf is considered one of the last remaining finger wharf structures in the world. In a continuation of the neo-liberal development of the Docklands, the majority of Collins Wharf is allocated to luxury waterfront apartments, with only the tip of the wharf reserved for an ‘eco-park.’ But given the abundance of apartments in Melbourne’s CBD, is this the best use for such an extraordinary waterfront structure? Across the world, former industrial piers have been transformed into significant public space. Driven though the interrogation of the experiential qualities of this unique post-industrial site, this studio speculates on an alternative landscape future for the wharf which forms a key section of Melbourne City’s Saltwater Precinct.

Studio Outcomes

Landscape architecture prides itself on being a site driven practice. Often this translates into a comprehensive inventory of site conditions (presented through the plan) which are then considered through a ‘solution’ based lens. Inevitably design emerges from the optimum placement of program or system in response to these documented site conditions.

This studio will introduce students to alternative creative techniques for engaging with site and generating design outcome. Concepts of atmosphere and sensation, supported by theoretical writings of Silvia Benedito, Philippe Rahm and Sean Lally, will be developed into a site-specific lexicon. This lexicon will inform an open space proposal which will be refined further through an interrogation of materiality, scale, and inhabitation (human and non- human), along with the consideration of key international waterfront design precedents in New York, Shanghai, Copenhagen, Chicago, Auckland, and Barcelona. Careful attention will be paid to the graphic representation of atmosphere, time, and bodily experience in design outcomes.

Studio Leader

Jillian Walliss is an Associate Professor in landscape architecture at the University of Melbourne. Her research explores the relationship between theory, culture, and contemporary design practice. She has published widely, including  The Big Asian Book of Landscape and Architecture (2020) and Landscape Architecture and Digital Technologies: Re-conceptualising Design and Making (2016).

Readings & References

• Ellen Braae & Lisa Diedrich (2012) ‘Site specificity in contemporary largescale harbour transformation projects,’ Journal of Landscape Architecture, 7:1, 20-33.
• Silvia Benedito: (2021) Atmosphere Anatomies On Design, Weather and Sensation; Lars Muller Publisher, Switzerland
• Kamni Gill (2015) ‘On emptiness’, Journal of Landscape Architecture, 10:2, 4-5.
• Karl Kullmann (2011) ‘Thin parks / thick edges: towards a linear park typology for (post)infrastructural sites,’ Journal of Landscape Architecture, 6:2, 70-81,
• Sean Lally, (2014) The Air from Other Planets: A brief history of Architecture to Come, Lars Muller Publisher, Switzerland
• Kees Lokman (2017) ‘Vacancy as a laboratory: design criteria for reimagining social-ecological systems on vacant urban lands,’ Landscape Research, 42:7, 728-746.

Schedule Lectures: Mondays 11:00-12:00; Studios: Mondays 12:15-18:15

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