Architecture Thesis Studio 02

Thesis Studio 02
Footscray Exchange

Studio leaders: Dr Kelum Palipane and Tom Proctor

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This studio will consider the expanded role transport hubs can play in broadening the conceptual understanding of the public sphere as one that is diverse and complex. Beyond an infrastructure project, we will consider the hub an important architectural site of intersection and exchange; of moving from one modality to another, of trajectories and timeframes, of formal and informal, of private and a multiplicitous public. We will explore, " ... 'urban potential', where 'new modalities of public space may be experimented, [which] are the coun­ter-spaces of the metropolis' beyond the imperatives of logic and commodification." (Chatterjee, 2020) To do so, students will undertake design research aiming to reconceptualise archetypal elements of architecture through a socio-spatial lens -for example, threshold as performative- with which they will interrogate spatial moments of their hub.

The broader site will be the inner Melbourne suburb of Footscray which has had a long history as a gathering or meeting place. Initially for indigenous communities including the Wurundjeri people of Melbourne, and subsequently because of its connection to public transport, for new immigrants who come to Footscray for culturally specific goods and services. The social networks that form around these activities have become essential in fostering a sense of belonging and community participation. The train station and tracks however have spatially and symbolically cleaved Footscray. On one side is a population distanced from a changing and multiplicitous public, on the other, one that is disengaged from an older settled generation and the Maribyrnong river with its restorative and symbolic potential. Students will locate their proposal in proximity to the existing station to propose a new transport hub that reconnects trade, populations and the river. The studio will include guest lectures and external critics from academia and practice including principal architects from John Wardle Architects (JWA).

REFERENCES
Lucas, Ray. "Threshold as Social Surface." In Surfaces: Transformations of Body, Materials and Earth, edited by Mike Anusas and Cristian Simonetti, 97-11 5. London:Routledge, 2020.
Psarra, Sophia. Architecture and Narrative: The formation of space and cultural meaning. London: Routledge, 2009. Mehrotra, Rahul. "Negotiating the Static and Kinetic Cities: The Emergent Urbanism of Mumbai." In Other Cities, Other Worlds: Urban Imaginaries in a Globalizing Age, edited by Andreas Huyssen, 205-218. Duke University Press, 2008. Volk, Carmella Jacoby and Anat Messing Marcus. "Haptic Diagrams: From Cinematography to Architectural Performance." Journal of Architectural Education, 62 no. 3 (2009): 71-76.

Architecture 2020_summer