MUP Studio
Studio N
Michele Acuto and Anna Edwards
This studio is available to students enrolled in ABPL90384 MUP Studio and ABPL90072 Landscape Architecture Studio 5.
Studio Description
Cities do not stop as the lights do down. If urban areas are now recognised as crucibles of sustainable and equitable development at a planetary scale, little attention is paid to the night when half of urban activities take place. New 'after-hours' thinking is needed. Evidence is clear to this direction: the night-time economy is a key driver of Australia's growth. It employs 1.17m people across Australia and generates $102 billion. Around 1-in-9 employees work night shifts, often in low pay and precarious health conditions. Over 2% of Australian households live in ‘food deserts’ where affordability plummets at night-time. Several cities have recognised this with the recent introduction of night time strategies, pilot programs, night time strategies and commissions, even ‘night mayors’ – not least in London, Amsterdam or Sydney.
This intensive studio focuses on ‘night time’ governance, planning and policyfor built environment practitioners and offers a venue to further refine interdisciplinary and policy-relevant understanding of urban planning, urban design and architecture at night time for scholarly and professional careers.
The studio is run by the Melbourne Centre for Cities in partnership with ARUP. It will present students with a chance to both test interdisciplinary urban analysis as well as practical (industry and policy) engagement with stakeholders and studio clients.
The Studio is integral part of the new Australian Research Council Night Shift program, focusing on the governance, planning and design of night time economy spaces from the perspective of those working in night shifts in Australian cities. In 2022, the challenge for studio participants will be to collaborate with the Night Shift team in the Centre and Arup, and work directly with an Australian local council, to understand how to improve the spaces of night work and the inclusivity of the night time economy.
Students will have a chance not only to learn about night time governance, but connect with experts and stakeholders currently working to shape how Melbourne and Canberra work in practice, sharpening comparison and policy engagement skills.
Studio Outcomes
Outcomes of the studio will be precinct and urban spaces design, governance and policy proposals that could shape directly the operate of local councils. In past years studio outcomes have already shaped the way local authorities like the City of Melbourne have tackled the night time economy, leading for instance into key inputs for the set up of Melbourne’s Night Time Economy Advisory Committee in 2021.
The studio takes a design approach to produce tangible practice-worthy tools. Students work with instructors and experts (from academia and practice) to identify key nigh-time challenges for local government as much as for night shift workers, testing the input provided by diverse mode of thinking about the urban against 'after-hours' and '24 hour' views of the city drawing explicitly from international and national examples.
Readings & References
- Managing Cities At Night: https://bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/managing-cities-at-night
- Cities After Dark podcast: https://sites.research.unimelb.edu.au/connected-cities#podcast
Schedule Thursdays 12:15-18:15 in MSD 239 and Online