Caroline Bate

The Urban Thread aims to stitch together the disconnections in the urban and community fabric of Caulfield, accommodating the current concerns of residents whilst laying the foundations for the expansion of the Caulfield Creative Precinct. It revolves around the need to mitigate a number of physical and social barriers in and around the Caulfield campus and future precinct, in particular exploring the east to west connection which runs parallel to the train line.

This linear thread coalesces the continuation of the cycling and pedestrian trail which runs underneath the railway line and a series of interventions which cater towards the creative precinct. The project works at two levels to create what is essentially an inhabitable bridge. The upper level is raised above the ground, acting primarily a fast transition path with set areas of occupancy. The lower level on the ground holds the creative precinct-based studios as well slow transition public spaces in a stepped landscape and pedestrian street, which is currently Sir John Monash Drive.

The balconies are places for permanence and perspective, with the bike trail which borders the south end of the deck area continuing its role as a transition path. The studios below the bridge deck are a combination of private individual studios and communal, collaborative areas, and by placing these studios in the visual path of the public, it allows a familiarity to develop, gradually drawing the central creative programs into the public sphere.

The project sits in the context of the studio by acting as one of the proposed east-west connections. The studio has explored many connections over the course of the semester, and this linear suture is just one of many proposals to repair the precinct site. Working in conjunction with plaza proposals and north-south connections, this project could be part of the wholistic reparations which our studio has developed for Caulfield.