Studio 5/03

An Ecological Opportunity: A Neighbourhood Centre for All

Anna Hooper

Studio Description

The roofs must become WOODLANDS
The streets must become GREEN VALLEYS
The traffic should pass under the ARCADES

Hundertwasser 1971

Studio Theme: This studio will focus the work of Friedensreich Hundertwasser (1928-2000), the Viennese artist whose work extends into architecture and landscape architecture. Hundertwasser was an exponent of bringing nature back into the city through designed habitats and questioned the cultural and design thinking of highly industrialised societies and demonstrated this through a series of urban, landscape, art, and architecture projects, undertaken between 1950s and 2000. Rejecting Modernist precepts, he produced several manifesti arguing for sustainable urbanism, reintegrating the city, nature, and beauty back into the city. Relevant projects include:

• The Five Skins (1967 onward)
• Tree Tenants are the Ambassadors of the Free Forests in the City (1973)
• High-Rise Meadow House (1974)
• Humus Toilet Water Purification Project (1975)
• Social housing project in Vienna (1986)
• Constructed urban wetlands, urban meadows (various dates)

Students will analyse and extrapolate from Hundertwasser’s ecological and social design philosophies, which he developed over 50 years ago, many of which are particularly relevant today. Students will be expected to unpack the social and cultural meanings of the terms ‘sustainable’ and ‘urbanism’ in the context of this project. Together with site analysis, study of other theoretical frameworks (chosen by the students themselves), and testing of design proposals, students will first conduct a site analysis, then prepare a masterplan for the site and, finally, create two smaller scaled detailed design interventions identified in the masterplan. The aim is to exploit opportunities, and ameliorate challenges, posed by the site with respect to sustainable urban development. Issues students can explore include, but are not limited to:

• Landscape as coexisting habitats (humans as part if the greater ecological system)
• Natural systems as ameliorators of waste
• Energy captured for lighting in the area
• Water catchment and reticulation
• Education awareness through interactive installations
• Ways of promoting and integrating the diverse residential community and passers-by through landscape modification

Students will be encouraged to use creative mapping and data gathering techniques to inform their designs and will be encouraged to experiment with various media and the use of colour in the landscape. They will be expected to develop ideas for the design of the site that reflect Hundertwasser’s design philosophies.

The Site: The site for this studio is the Inner Circle Reserve in North Carlton (approximately 15 mins walk from MSD. It is bounded by Park Street, Holtom Street West, and Solly Avenue. Lygon Street forms the easternmost edge while Princes Park/Bowen Crescent forms the westernmost edge.

Located on the site is the former Carlton North Railway Station, now a neighbourhood centre, and a playground, community gardens (begun in 2020).  Nearby are two schools, residential housing (private and public), a commercial strip (Sydney Road), and Princes Park (home of Carlton Football Club).   The site is essentially level, however there are small level changes across some areas.

The Railway Neighbourhood Community is very keen to have students involved in developing ideas for the future of the site and welcomes the Studio 5 Sustainable Urbanism principles that will underpin the student proposals. This is a wonderful opportunity for students to engage in a community-driven project along with the members of the community who are very willing to share their knowledge and ideas with students.

Studio Leader

Dr Anna Hooper has a cross-disciplinary background in landscape, architecture, urbanism (and philosophy), and has been teaching across these fields at MSD since 2013. Her love of colour and pattern informs her own design thinking, and she is a passionate advocate for admitting Hundertwasser’s work into current landscape architecture (and other design) discourse. Having visited some of his works, Anna is very excited to be sharing his philosophies with her students who will be encouraged to immerse themselves in his non-conformist, curvilinear, world of colour and forms.

Schedule Lectures: Tuesdays 16:15-17:15; Studios: Tuesdays 17:15-20:15 and Thursdays 18:15-21:15

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