Vision: Sunshine 2032

To address the challenge of climate change we must develop low-carbon resilient communities from within the existing fabric of (sub)urban life.

To tackle this it is important to have two things: visions of desirable future living scenarios – and visible interventions, today, that can re-orient the path of future development. To explore these, the studio focused on the VEIL models of Eco-Acupunture and distributed systems thinking. This work was complemented by input from design professionals, Local Councils, State Government and the existing community, to design a suite of design projects that could trigger the building of a broader networked and sustainable precinct.

Sunshine requires the ‘retrofitting’ of an existing community. The studio sought to re-imagine Sunshine through new architectural and design strategies, addressing the distribution of food, water, transport, energy, information and the development of new Local Activities Districts. Sunshine has moved from a position of national leadership to a state of rapid decline. With its rich cultural diversity and history, what are the new possibilities for innovative design thinking? The studio examined sustainable design strategies at different scales to develop projects that capture radical and current sustainability thinking.