Scandal & The City

Scandal and the City explores a range of Melbourne’s most salacious dramas over the years. The students have examined art, architectural and cultural scandalous phenomenons in the form of a variety of projects at various scales. The studio focuses on Melbourne’s rich history as a source of inspiration for design and exploration. The student’s projects take form as a selection of small tasks, each examining a different focus area which have come together, forming an overall story that students have described and illustrated using a narrative approach.

We have investigated ideas of value and heritage, and questioned what is and what isn’t worth preserving. Students have been asked to develop their own set of value systems. We have looked at both the glamorous stories of the city and high society as well as the gossipy tidbits whispered on the back of the tram or in the toilets at public venues.

Films, texts and artworks were circulated for discussion and in some cases incorporated into tasks. Students have examined these sources of inspiration carefully and used their analysis to guide their design ideas. Alongside traditional architectural drawings and imagery, students have experimented with mixed media form making such as castings and weavings that work alongside the final projects and proposed narratives.

Studio Leaders: Alexis Infeld

Image: Constable Steve Wilson, one of 25 policemen who searched the National Gallery of Victoria for the missing Picasso