From the Ground Up: COVID + the reinvention of sustainable, resilient intergenerational urban environments post tape markings

The jury were challenged by the high standard of submissions evident in thoughtfulness of topics and worthiness of candidates. Kah Mun Tham’s proposal seeks to delve into the future proofing of social space to achieve equity and inclusiveness across urban and suburban landscapes. It struck a chord with the jury in its recognition of existing issues in metropolitan Sydney and its optimism in seeking to identify applications of relevance to a future Sydney. It proposes to do this by exploring the impact of a Covid 19 on a cross-section of metropolitan Sydney; 4 locations exhibiting different demographic and geographic profiles. It is a particularly pertinent subject given the State government’s struggle to deliver place and the dislocating impact of the pandemic.

A process of inquiry will be initiated through manual drawing and digital mapping to lead to propositions around need and intervention clarified through the study of local and international precedent and identified principles. The propositional outcomes will be invested with a clear understanding of the social capital that can be carried in the making of place. Ironically, it renders the pandemic as a ‘positive’ – a contributor to the process of understanding and making relevant public space to a future Sydney.

The proposal resonates with the essence of the very things that drove Christopher Procter’s interest in city making and architecture – a cocktail mix of original subject and thought; pride and willingness to share one’s work; a consistent thread of ideas evidenced in study, practice and fellowship; and, a twist of quirkiness.

Kah Mun Tham is a worthy recipient.