Rethinking Regional Recovery

• Course

  • • Master of Architecture
    Semester 2, 2020

• Studio leaders

  • Nikhila Madabhushi

Weaving spatial justice narratives between bushfire affected people and place

If we view the wildfires and fire plumes of the last few decades through a macro lens, it becomes clear that  anthropogenic climate change is evidence of humanity’s immense power, greater than any geological force.

This research-led studio aims to speculate on how we might harness this collective power in order to forge, fortify and adapt our built environments for  a brighter future, with all due respect paid to vernacular peculiarities and local knowledge. Lessons learnt from past bushfires in Victoria such as Marysville and Black Saturday have not necessarily been understood, with many more accumulating as towns in East Gippsland continue a long recovery process after the 2019-20 fires.

These disasters raise questions around the ‘moral’ role of architects and built environment experts, amidst State- led efforts to recover quickly, especially through the tangibility of buildings.

Are architects and builders complicit in people’s lack of ability to recover socially, psychologically and economically, when we fail to shift our ways of knowing and doing, during post-fire recovery in regional Victoria? How might we deepen our understanding of the implications of what we design and build through interdisciplinary approaches that deconstruct sectoral and epistemological silos, during disaster recovery?

Outcomes will include small to mid-scale architectural interventions that re-think, challenge and re-imagine traditional design processes by leveraging a deeper understanding of interdisciplinary approaches to long term disaster recovery.

This studio works in conjunction with the concurrent studies unit, Socio-Spatial Theories & Practises and culminates in mixed mode final exhibition works and a folio.

Including guests from Australian Red Cross, Bushfire Recovery Victoria, Gender and Disaster Pod, Firesticks Alliance as well as diverse communityled  recovery leaders currently working on rehabilitation of towns affected by the 2019-20 fires in East Gippsland / Gurnaikurnai-Bidawel country.