NextSense: WMK Architecture
10 Sep 2024
The NextSense centre for innovation at Macquarie University by WMK Architecture has opened heralding a new era for hearing and vision loss in Australia.
The official journal of the New South Wales Chapter of the Australian Institute of Architects. Documenting architecture and the profession since 1944. The editorial committee contribute towards planning, sourcing material and editing. An important cultural focus for the NSW Chapter for 80 years, a broad cross-section of views from students, graduates, architects and academics are provided in articles passionate about the creative act and practical dimension of architecture.
Dindarra, the Kuku Yalanji word that translates in English to ‘between’, is the theme of this edition. It delves into aspects of architectural experiences from interactions between Country, First Nations Cultures and the Western systems that immerse our architectural practices – Michael Mossman, guest editor.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this publication contains an image and stories of a person who has passed away.
Produced with the assistance of the Alastair Swayn Foundation. Find out more at: alastairswaynfoundation.org
The NextSense centre for innovation at Macquarie University by WMK Architecture has opened heralding a new era for hearing and vision loss in Australia.
Architecture is not just about creating aesthetically pleasing buildings; it plays a crucial role in creating environments that support the health and wellbeing of those who live, work, and play in those spaces. This concept has gained recent attention, as studies highlight the impact of indoor environments on our physical and mental health and how architects are playing a leading role in an increasingly wellness-focused world.
What do you think accessibility means? Does it mean compliance with AS1428.1 or the ability to enter a building and spaces within it? Is it about usability? Even if it means all these things, the word accessibility is too limited to encompass all the considerations for people with disabilities and generally does not account for the psychosocial or psycho-emotional experiences of a building.
A recent ground-breaking study into the Wellbeing of Architects in Australia, (based at RMIT and Monash Universities, funded by the Australia Research Council and supported by numerous industry partners) found that working in the profession isn’t necessarily easy. In fact, many architects display concerningly low levels of personal wellbeing.
The built environment in education settings is often referred to as the ‘Third Teacher’ from the Reggio Emilia philosophy acknowledging the significant role the built environment has on student learning and engagement. So significant the Australian Children’s Education & Care Authority has a quality area dedicated to it, citing that “Behind educators and families, physical spaces hold the potential to influence what and how children learn.”
Design decisions made by an architect have a fundamental impact on an inhabitant’s quality of life. Decades of research have shown how good design can enhance both people and the planet’s sense of wellbeing.
The built environment plays a key role in improving people’s wellbeing by creating social value. Wellbeing and social value are interconnected, with social value being described as the positive effects buildings, spaces, and infrastructure have on people’s wellbeing and quality of life.
Australia has long been categorised as one of the most urbanised nations, with a high percentage of the population living in suburbs and conurbations. In recent decades, a substantially greater proportion of people are now living in higher density housing. This is certainly the case in major cities like Sydney and Melbourne, where over 50% of all new dwellings have been in the form of apartment buildings. As denser forms of housing are now prevalent across Australia, the profession must rise to the challenge and must better demonstrate the role and character of such housing in city making.
Architecture plays a critical role in responding to the needs of those affected by natural disasters. Through design, architects can help to mitigate the impacts of climate events by offering adaptive and resilient strategies, often developed as part of disaster recovery solutions. One such approach is evident in the Brisbane ferry terminal redevelopment project by Cox Architecture in collaboration with Aurecon.
My own experiences of living in apartments have all been under very different circumstances – firstly with two housemates in a three-bed and then on my own in a studio apartment. Next in a two-bed with a partner and a dog, and then we added a baby into the mix.
When students can engage with real communities and projects, especially those that focus on designing with empathy, they can begin to appreciate how architects can operate as advocates promoting a better and more equitable world.
Social housing project briefs include many requirements, including apartment mix to suit the anticipated residents, accessibility standards to accommodate a wide demographic, and operational consideration to ensure a manageable and long-last building. While these are necessary and important, an overarching design principle that is sometimes omitted from the brief is blind tenure. Blind tenure is the notion that social housing is indistinguishable from private housing projects. This is not that social housing is identical to private housing, as social housing has particular requirements such as those listed above. Successful blind tenure demonstrates that social projects can achieve the same amenity and contribution to the city as private apartments.
Our cities have been witnessing a gradual shift, a transformation embracing more diverse typologies and design solutions with a welcome focus on residents’ quality of life, community engagement and social inclusion. This wave of change is making our inner-city suburbs more interesting, infusing them with a vibrancy.
Imagine for a moment that a local council could directly design and construct housing for the economically disadvantaged among us, using in-house architects. Then imagine that the resultant dwellings consist entirely of social housing and that this ‘development’ is not even remotely connected to or funded by adjacent new dwellings for the better off.
Starting a business and a family at the same time might sound like a nightmare, and we are not here to tell you that it’s been easy, but lately, we’ve realised the juggle brings with it substantial long-term benefits for our practice.
We have undertaken collaborative housing projects in architectural, legal and financial partnerships to house ourselves and our business. Collaborative projects rely on goodwill, common goals and a harmonious group dynamic over a long timeframe.
The refurbishment and infill of existing social housing, as an alternative to its demolition and reconstruction, presents a fast and scalable way of providing housing while achieving better social, economic, and environmental outcomes.
The majority of buildings in our cities are our homes, and for an increasing number of Australians, these are apartments.
The coast is an iconic and highly-valued landscape in Australia. It’s one of our most productive and abundant places environmentally, culturally and economically.
Architecture has the potential to contribute positively over the next few decades as humanity adapts to the changing world we have co-created. While the resilience of our current building stock is poor, we have an opportunity to improve it and create new buildings that are appropriately resilient to the future we face.
With its Leave No One Behind sustainable futures theme and the aim “to make architecture a central tool in achieving the UN17 Sustainable Development Goals”, the July 2-6 Union of International Architects Congress (UIA23) in Copenhagen brought the importance, and the potential of the goals to the attention of practitioners, educators and students from around the world.
Colour – saturated, translucent and diaphanous – was a founding framework for the Sydney Metro Northwest artwork.
Located at the University of Sydney’s Chau Chak Wing Museum, the Nicholson Galleries are home to the university’s collection of antiquities from three ancient cultures: Egypt, Greece and Rome. When our studio was commissioned to design these galleries, the conceptual starting point was materiality; specifically, the way that material and tectonic culture helps to locate us in time and place.
As with many of Jonathan Jones’ works, untitled (maraong manaóuwi) in the forecourt of the Hyde Park Barracks draws upon layers of deep research, symbolism and culture to speak to the history of this place. This artwork particularly teaches us to have reverence and thoughtfulness in the way we use materials.
Held to the whim of rapidly changing trends, it is not uncommon to find kitchens barely five years old discarded or stripped from homes. In 2018, 78% of home improvements were for kitchen renovations, (according to the Home Builders Association). Off-cut kitchen is a physical manifestation of our local deconstruction and reuse network. While there are endless examples of aesthetic experimentation within the architectural interior, the materials are almost always the same, melamine, MDF, veneer and natural stone. Our question became, how can we construct a kitchen using only materials destined for landfill?
The last three years have seen architectural practice grapple with internal and external issues that we’ve not faced in several generations, if ever. However, a recent roundtable discussion with a number of practices suggests the dark days of the pandemic may have been the prelude to a period of positivity for the profession.
Crises are powerful agents for change. The worldwide pandemic and recent natural disasters have highlighted the fragility of human health, along with the importance of taking care of our planet. Like many industries, architecture and construction has responded with efforts to evolve practices in sustainable ways.
An appeal to consider the ethics of everything is overwhelming but remains urgent. The Ethics Centre identifies an ethics framework as a useful tool to consider purpose and values. Beyond design excellence, an ethics framework can help studios operate with intention, recruit the right people and reduce the risks of poor decisions being made.
The disciplines of architecture and town planning are intrinsically interrelated yet in practice are often considered separately from one another. My understanding is that there are intersections between these disciplines but rarely do the systems behind these professions collaborate through sharing knowledge and project outcomes in meaningful ways.
An ambition of our practice since we started eight years ago has been to explore and find ways to embed cultural, environmental and social value in our work. We believe that valuable architecture must balance functionality with poetics, nurture community and connect people, not only with each other, but with the broader world around us.
The Australian Institute of Architects acknowledges First Nations peoples as the Traditional Custodians of the lands, waters, and skies of the continent now called Australia.
We express our gratitude to their Elders and Knowledge Holders whose wisdom, actions and knowledge have kept culture alive.
We recognise First Nations peoples as the first architects and builders. We appreciate their continuing work on Country from pre-invasion times to contemporary First Nations architects, and respect their rights to continue to care for Country.
