Architecture, Building and Planning - Theses
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ItemSupercharged paintings move towards light and space( 2018)This project considers certain connections between the so-called art world and global social mobility. Is the ubiquity of some universal aesthetic frameworks implicitly promoting the ever-expanding cultural class to become even more seduced by the forces of late-capitalism? The thesis, which comprises a dissertation presented in conjunction with a studio-based investigation, is centred around three distinct, but inter-related templates for display: the generic living room TV wall unit; the painted canvas; and the gallery. I consider how each format conditions our reception of cultural information by influencing our sense of individuality, whilst as the same time signalling our inclusion in a unified non-culturally specific world view that is rooted in western modernism. Significantly, these three selected display arenas all convey a sense of universality—not necessarily through specific content, but rather through their inherent structures. I argue that these successful systems of display potentially mask otherwise visible signs of power through implicit democratic ideologies disseminated via inspirational design trends. Considered together, I demonstrate that all three offer insights into the underlying function of international systems of cultural exchange. A substantial part of this research considers the homogenising effect of Internet image-searching, especially in relation to notions of class and sophistication at a time characterised by a global democratisation of desire and appreciation for ‘good’ design principles. The artworks I have produced in conjunction with this dissertation are designed to critically engage and antagonise the already fuzzy intersection of art, architecture and design. Accordingly, I have sought to produce works that are less distinguished by traditional art-making decisions but rather emphasise compositions, materials, and principles associated within modernist and minimalist infused trends in design and architecture. This strategy seeks to recode the sublime grandeur of late-formalist abstract paintings as a kind-of banal realism perhaps more associated with marketing and pop consumerism. The physical creation of individual artworks has taken place in accordance with two predominate modes of production. Firstly, and in reference to painting, wall mounted sculptural relief works incorporating materials such as Formica composite wood panelling, plywood, hardwood, acrylic paint, enamel paint, glass, vinyl flooring, composite stone samples, imitation plants, real-plants, pots, fluorescent lights, and found objects, were produced. The second mode of production is in the digital realm, and includes digital photographic montages (combining online images with my own photography), video (using online content and making interventions within it) and creating audio tracks (to accompany the video works). Considered together, these modes of production are used as tools to psychologically position the viewer in a space in which materials, surfaces and compositions, might trigger considerations of social mobility, our relationships to design, and finally, notions of personal intimacy and memory that are activated through smart-screen technologies.
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ItemConstructing publicness: politics and the role of design in Melbourne's grid since the 1990s( 2016)During the 1990s the developmental trajectory of inner Melbourne shifted dramatically and the city became the site of an entrepreneurial strategy of urban development. Within the inner grid, spatial interventions grounded this redirection, and a number of the city's open spaces became of utility in catalysing growth. This thesis explores the role of the design of public open spaces within the development of Melbourne's inner grid since the 1990s and investigates the implications on public life within these spaces. Focusing on City Square and Federation Square, analysis draws Upson ideas from contemporary political philosophy in order to understand the political capacities of these spaces and the forms of citizenship they produce. Influenced by numerous factors, Melbourne's inner grid evolved with a scarcity public open spaces and a strong economic focus. This has continually prevented the securing of such spaces and consistently privileged economic concerns over social utility in the creation of new spaces. This focus on the financial aspects of public spaces was heightened during the entrepreneurial shift of the 1990s and design became of importance in satisfying the emerging imperatives of development. Theories of design dominant in the 1990s, particularity deconstructivist methodologies of design and the urban design approach of Jan Gehl, found expression in spaces created and operated well within the broader entrepreneurial paradigm. Both approaches relied heavily on the use of architectural program to catalyse the animation of urban space, and within the resultant spaces there exists a conflation of civicness with programmed activities and consumptive practices. Within spaces analysed, design has proven instrumental in producing forms of citizenship and transforming notions of publicness in space.
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ItemUrban agriculture design for resilient cities( 2015)How might urban agriculture practices be more explicitly designed and managed to contribute to the resilience of urban socio-technical-ecological systems? The observed and potential impacts on cities of climate change and resource scarcity are being identified as motivations for theoretical and practical research into urban resilience. Urban agriculture (UA)–the production of food in urban environments–is argued by theorists and practitioners as one way to increase the resilience of cities by reducing vulnerabilities of current food supply systems. The anticipated value of UA in resilient cities contributes in part to a growing field of theory and practice focused on the task of designing and integrating UA into existing urban landscapes. This thesis reframes UA as a socio-technical-ecological system (STES) in which practitioners–consciously or otherwise–manage resources and relationships to produce ecosystem services. Framing UA in this way informed the selection of four case studies–three in the UK and one in the Netherlands–that seek to generate multiple benefits by creating UA networks across several sites in a city. Design research methods used in the fieldwork data collection and analysis stages revealed patterns that describe methods of working with UA as a STES that has cycles of growth and collapse. The patterns tested positively for coherence through discussion with urban agriculture practitioners in Melbourne. A comparison of the case studies and patterns with resilience methods and principles revealed correlations and gaps between the two. Working with social and ecological diversity, embracing experimentation and risk in socio-ecological systems are resilience-building principles that occurred in the case studies. Working at multiple scales and preparing innovative projects in anticipation of disturbance in the STES are resilience-building principles that were not identified in the case studies or patterns. The scope of the case studies in this thesis was limited to those that worked on multiple sites in a city because the presence of distributed urban agriculture is anticipated to contribute to urban resilience. The thesis found, within these limitations, that there are some correlations between resilience-building principles developed from rural and peri-urban case studies and the UA practices investigated. It also found gaps between the principles and the UA practices. The UA case studies demonstrated some common patterns of practice that were recognisable, if unusual, to UA practitioners in Melbourne. There is some possibility that UA network practices might be more explicitly aligned with resilience-building principles and that patterns might continue to be drawn from them, allowing such methods to be applied in different cities.