Studio C/13

An Ephemeral Frame

Mark Ng

Studio Description

Western architecture has tended to impose itself not just formally and materially on the land, but also programatically. This studio invites students to challenge this approach on both levels and look more closely at what site and place have to offer through the lens of impermanence, allowing a design response to emerge out of this.

By utilising methods of framing views and other sensory phenomena that disrupt the traditional gaze of the occupier, students will propose a speculative suite of temporary structures or ‘frames’ on a site of dense bushland in inner Melbourne. These will include:

1. A space that evokes awe, contemplation and the sacred, framing one ephemeral feature or quality of its natural environment;
2. A performance space for talks, dance, theatre, music, etc.; and
3. Ancillary functions that demonstrate a thoughtful response to waste, water and servicing — toilet/amenities block, bins, etc.

What unexpected and sublime spaces might arise out of framing these ephemeral experiences with frames that are temporary themselves, and how might they inspire care, celebration and repair of country?

Studio Outcomes

The studio aims to develop a nuanced and personal approach to designing with site and place in the natural environment with consideration of culture, history and ecology. At the same time it will build skills in dealing with practical constraints such as constructability, access and servicing, which are inextricably tied to the social/cultural position of the project.

Being based on a speculative brief, the studio also aims to build initiative to propose self-determined projects that may be provocative, but which are well-informed, sensitive and respectful.

Through its methods of designing and representation it aims to build skills in drawing, (both digital and hand), photography, model-making and graphic design, with a strong emphasis on elegant, highly curated presentation.

Studio Leader

Mark is a multi-disciplinary creative working in architecture, design teaching, graphic design, music and art. He is currently a studio leader in Studio Epsilon in the Bachelor of Design program and has led past Masters Thesis studios such as Nightingale Night School, the Future Homes Competition, and The New Third Place.

In practice, Mark has worked with practices including Breathe and Freadman White on a wide range of sustainable, socially-conscious projects with a culturally sensitive approach. Some of these include the winning proposal for a Market Pavilion at Queen Victoria Market, the Nightingale Village precinct, and Paramount House Hotel.

Readings & References

• Introduction: making Indigenous place in the Australian city, Postcolonial Studies , Volume 15, 2012 - Issue 2: Making Indigenous place in the Australian city
• From an urban country to urban Country: confronting the cult of denial in Australian cities, Volume 49, 2018 - Issue 2
• Indigenous Place-Making in the City: Dispossessions, Occupations and Implications for Cultural Architecture, Architectural Theory Review Volume 16, 2011 - Issue 3: Special Issue: The Right to the City
• Asato, Avery, "Pavilions as Urban Placemakers: Temporary Architecture and Community Engagement" (2018). University Honors Theses. Paper 536.
• Edge of Empire: Postcolonialism and the City, Jane M. Jacobs
• James Turrell: The Art of Light and Space, Craig E. Adcock, James Turrell

Schedule
Tuesdays 12:00-15:00 in MSD Room 237 and Fridays 15:15-18:15 in MSD Room 140

Off-campus Activities
Week 1 / Northcote Golf Course / costing approx. $10/cost of transport

Contact Handbook