University of Melbourne presents 10 architectural projects

A Melbourne Soup Institute that explores the traditional "healing" powers of soup and a new design for a skyscraper in Hong Kong are included in Dezeen's latest school show from students at the University of Melbourne.

Also featured is a new typology of sports architecture and a thesis exploring the role of architecture in maintaining the identity of a town on the outskirts of Melbourne.

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University of Melbourne

School: University of Melbourne, Melbourne School of Design
Courses: Master of Architecture
Tutors: Virginia Mannering, Justyna Karakiewicz, Rory Hyde, David O'Brien, Djordje Stojanovic, Marijke Davey, Danielle Peck and Sam Hunter

School statement:

"The Melbourne School of Design (MSD) forms the postgraduate school of the University of Melbourne's Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning, a creative and people-oriented built environment faculty in Australia’s leading research-intensive university.

"Our architecture students cover architectural design in the context of the creative invention of architectural futures, integrating aesthetic, technological, programmatic, environmental and social issues in the production of buildings. Students undertake a sequence of intensive design studios culminating in a research thesis.

"Our multidisciplinary approach educates and activates the next generation of built environment researchers, thinkers and practitioners.

"We teach across the built environment fields, making us unique among Australian universities, and part of a select group worldwide. This mix of expertise enables us to prepare our graduates to design solutions for an unpredictable future.

"Researchers and industry practitioners teach our programs and are leaders in public conversations about our cities and regions, shaping policy development and transforming Australian practice.

"We strive to develop imaginative, thoughtful, critical yet industrious students, complete with the appropriate skills to improve the quality of our built environment, addressing complex questions through a synthesis across disciplines.

"We provide a world-recognised education which inspires and enables our graduates to create and influence our world."

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Junk Tectonics, Feral Communities: the Metamorphosis of the Mildura Golf Club by Amelia Griffin-Toovey

"Through the investigation of a golf course upon the arid lands of Mildura, this thesis seeks to overturn the extractive hierarchies embodied by this site: ecologies, communities and junk.

"This thesis proposes a staged metamorphosis of the Mildura Golf Course and its clubhouse. It uses junk tectonics and compositional devices to create experimental spaces for ecologies and communities.

"The interventions transform the site from an exclusionary space favouring the few to an experimental one with multiple users. It also fosters symbiotic relationships rather than extractive ones."

Student: Amelia Griffin-Toovey
Course: Master of Architecture
Tutor: Virginia Mannering

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Between Ground and Sky: Seeing Old and New Tallangatta by Hermione Hines

"The Murray River has been diverted, dammed and disfigured into a regulated and artificial system. The Hume Dam is one such irreversible scar, which has drastically impacted surrounding towns, such as Tallangatta.

"Drowned as a result of the expansion of the Dam in 1956, Tallangatta was reborn. Old Tallangatta now exists as submerged traces in the landscape.

"Present-day Tallangatta, largely consisting of buildings relocated during the flooding and is known locally as The Town that Moved. This thesis provides modes of observation to allow for the deeper histories of these twin towns to be understood."

Student: Hermione Hines
Course: Master of Architecture
Tutor: Virginia Mannering

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Contemporary Peach Blossom Stream: Chinese Food, Chinese Garden, and Poetic Life by Jiaqi Fu

"Envisioned as the new hybridisation of the skyscraper, Chinese garden and Chinese food, my project helps inhabitants of the stressful and fast-faced Hong Kong metropolis achieve a healthier and slower poetic life.

'The slowly consumed and nutritious balanced Hong Kong cuisine poon choi is used as a metaphor on how to scatter and connect the functional programmes which serve a variety of regional Chinese cuisines.

"As visitors go up along the controlled pathway, they can have a serial vision of different sceneries and experience one scene from different positions and achieve unique feelings from certain framed views."

Student: Jiaqi Fu
Course: Master of Architecture
Tutor: Justyna Karakiewicz

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Massively Multiplayer Architecture (MMA): E-rena by Jiaao Wang

"E-rena is a new typology of sports architecture. It will create a new system of games overlaying on top of the existing urban layer by distributing a number of beacons and connections to encourage players' movement.

"Rather than being limited to a centralised sports centre, players are provided with a platform where they are allowed to create and start their sports games everywhere on the campus.

"The project borrows mechanics from MMORPG and pervasive video games, exploring the possibility of the sports that could be created and experienced by massive multiplayer in both the real and virtual world."

Student: Jiaao Wang
Course: Master of Architecture
Tutor: Justyna Karakiewicz

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(re)Collecting Rural: Memory, Heritage and a Rural Identity Under Threat by Jeremy Bonwick

"In a climate of expansion and homogenisation of culture and the built environment, the continuing urban bleed of Melbourne into its surrounding rural towns threatens to supersede and suppress a local identity.

"This thesis examines the role of architecture and the museum typology in maintaining the local identity of Warburton – a peri-urban town on the outskirts of Melbourne – through interactions with heritage, relic, and artefact.

"A disused food factory is taken as the existing architectural condition, imprinted with traces of past events, practices and paradigms, and transformed into a factory of identity."

Student: Jeremy Bonwick
Course: Master of Architecture
Tutor: Rory Hyde

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Middle Ground: Co-production of Place as a Means to Counter Displacement and Other Evils of Development in Bandung, Indonesia by Archana Ramesh

"Situated in a Kampung in Bandung, Indonesia, this thesis takes on the machinery of displacement and the asymmetrical aspirations of the site's stakeholders, calling for a co-production of architecture through a dialogue-based approach.

"The thesis calls for architecture to reorient itself towards the context and operate with local knowledge acquired through an investigation of socio-spatialities to negotiate the numerous tensions of the context to produce a framework in place of 'instant formalisation' that threatens the local way of life."

Student: Archana Ramesh
Course: Master of Architecture
Tutor: Rory Hyde

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The River Land by Gina Dahl

"We have a responsibility to ensure 'good design' is within the country. We should embrace holistic thinking that recognises the ancient knowledge of the traditional custodians and respects the country, its rights and legacy.

"Indigenous knowledge systems carry deep respect and understanding for the country – a connection expressed every day through art and stories in the Karungkarni Art and Culture Centre.

"This thesis explores the role that a country can play in changing methodologies towards design, and how design can become a celebration of the country in Kalkarindji and beyond."

Student: Gina Dahl
Course: Master of Architecture
Tutor: David O'Brien

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Independent Design Thesis by YuHan Feng

"This research is based on Habraken's concept of 'providing infrastructure in which users would find space to control the layout of their own dwelling units which were developed in the 1970s'.

"This project explored how to empower residents further to customise and reconfigure dwelling spaces according to the modern-day lifestyle that is increasingly becoming dynamic and nomadic.

"The design proposal incorporates computational systems and modular timber fabrications to enable the 'support and infill' scheme and attaches mobility and function to the vertical and horizontal partitions."

Student: YuHan Feng
Course: Master of Architecture (Independent Design Thesis)
Tutor: Djordje Stojanovic

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Beirut Year Zero: Shifting, Shielding by Zhuoqing Eve Li

"On August 4, 2020, a devastating explosion hit the Port of Beirut at 6:07 pm. With shattered glass raining down and covering the streets, glass is blamed for causing the majority of recorded injuries and deaths, as well as a new phenomenon of anxiety – glassophobia (Daronboz, 2020).

"Before people can trust glass, how can we curate a trauma-informed paradigm that provides emotional safety and empowers emotional expression reacting to glassophobia?

"This thesis does not aim at curing, but exploring a shielding and narrative system in response to individual perceptions of different phases, materialising the intangible trauma of glassophobia."

Student: Zhuoqing Eve Li
Course: Master of Architecture
Tutor: Marijke Davey

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Melbourne Soup Institute by Ziyue Kristy Zhang and Isabel Solin

"The Melbourne Soup Institute merges two sides of culinary production: the human and machine-made. The project encourages collisions between these two modes in order to give rise to something new.

"Inspired by soup production and the architectural language of the existing 19th-century building, a new 'human' skin and 'mechanical' structure are inserted into the existing Italianate fabric.

"Romantic notions of soups healing and restorative powers are fused with an anthropogenic flavour of a possible machine-made future; the line between blurred and discursive."

Student: Ziyue Kristy Zhang and Isabel Solin
Course: Master of Architecture
Tutors: Danielle Peck and Sam Hunter

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Partnership content

This school show is a partnership between Dezeen and the University of Melbourne. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.

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Crystal Williams named first Black president of Rhode Island School of Design

Teacher and poet Crystal Williams has been appointed president of Rhode Island School of Design, becoming the private US art and design school's first Black president.

Williams, who is currently vice president and associate provost for community and inclusion at Boston University (BU), will become the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD)'s 18th president and its first Black president.

The news comes following the school's former president Rosanne Somerson, who retired at the end of June, announcement of a plan to tackle "multiple racist issues" at the school.

"I believe in the value of art and design"

Williams' appointment is the culmination of RISD's search for a leader "with the global vision to guide RISD's role in helping to create a more just, fair and sustainable society".

"I entered this search because I believe in the value of art and design to elevate and amplify the human experience, and to narrate who we have been and who we can become," Williams said.

Crystal Williams is the 18th president of the Rhode Island School of Design

"As a matter of fundamental principle, I believe in the power of art and design to not only, as bell hooks wrote '...tell it like it is' but to also, '...imagine what is possible,'" Williams told Dezeen.

"In this way, artists, designers, and creatives step into the world with courage and love for our collective human endeavor and dare to see and say: here is a new way, a different path," she added.

"To lead an institution dedicated to amplifying that and the creatives with the vision and courage to enact that vision, is to have an essential opportunity to help be part of and catalyze positive change in our world."

Williams' work has focused on inclusivity 

Raised in Detroit, USA, and Madrid, Spain, Williams began her academic career at Reed College as a professor of English and was its dean from 2011-13.

She was then associate vice president for strategic initiatives and professor of English at Bates College from 2013-17.

Her previous work has focused on promoting diversity and inclusivity and at BU, she led a number of initiatives including the Inclusive Pedagogy Initiative and the LGBTQIA+ Task Force.

Williams told Dezeen that being appointed to the role at RISD matters because it creates new narratives.

"There is power in multiplicity," she said. "Diversity of experience and perspective catalyzes deeper, richer conversations and therefore stronger, more creative and innovative decisions and outcomes. It also matters because the narratives about who adds value and who should be in the room are derived from who has been in the room."

Read:

RISD president announces plan to tackle school's "multiple racist issues"

"That I am a Black woman now leading this august institution matters because, yes, I bring a series of experiences and points of view to the table, and, because behind me are a series of people who look like me who now have a new narrative that affirms: I can be there too!" she added.

"And, importantly, we often miss this but I think we shouldn’t, because behind and beside me are also a series of people who do not look like me who now also have a new narrative which is that people who look like me can be here and should be here too. Both of these new narratives change the course of history."

RISD on path to hire more diverse faculty

Williams will take up the role at RISD on 1 April 2022.

"Crystal shares our strong conviction in the critical role art and design play in shaping our world, and she has the expertise and qualities of leadership needed to meet the urgency of this moment and take RISD into the future," RISD Board of Trustees chair Michael Spalter said.

"We are thrilled that she has accepted our invitation to be our next president."

Last year, previous president Somerson announced plans to tackle racism at the school in an open letter.

"Unfortunately, these issues are not new; they have pervaded systems and structures at RISD for decades, largely unchanged," she said.

"As the leader of RISD, I take responsibility for having allowed a culture to continue to exist that does not fully live up to our values."

In November 2020 RISD launched its Race in Art and Design cluster-hire initiative to hire 10 faculty members who specialise in issues of race and decoloniality in the arts.

The photography is by Jo Sittenfeld unless stated otherwise.

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Smart devices are "essential" to the changing function of the home says Samsung Design

Dezeen promotion: Samsung Design has launched a "design vision" called Together for a Better Home, which aims to demonstrate how connected homes and smart devices can improve day-to-day life.

Together for a Better Home explores how the role and function of the home is changing.

According to Samsung Design, the home has evolved into a space that encompasses both leisure and work activities, where "working from home, taking remote classes, and joining online meetings are becoming routine".

"Creating a suitable environment for the user by connecting every device within the house is becoming essential," said Samsung Design.

Samsung Design highlights how digital devices can provide better at-home experiences

"More and more people are active in online classes and group study sessions," Samsung Design said. "Even if we are apart, the experience of sharing our daily lives continues online."

Samsung Design intends to highlight how digital devices, such as smartphones and tablets, enable people to enjoy "conveniences in limited spaces, which result in greater efficiency in work and daily life".

"Even when we are physically separated in our individual homes, we can still enjoy moments together and pursue pleasant experiences in working and learning," the brand said.

The home has evolved into a space for leisure and work activities

Together for a Better Home shows how people today require experiences that are flexible and allow them to undertake their day-to-day activities efficiently.

As an example, Samsung Design points out that people used to work in offices, study in classrooms and work out in gyms. But since the onset of Covid-19, the division of space and its purpose is "fading" as houses encompass all needs – with the help of digital spaces, the brand believes.

"Newly emerged online-based services defy space limitations and allow us to be 'together' in our respective spaces," Samsung Design said. "A new daily life of working, learning, and enjoying time with colleagues and friends at home is becoming a reality."

The brand's design vision aims to highlight the need for spaces to become more flexible and how smart devices that are connected to the home are becoming "essential".

Samsung Design explores how the role and function of the home is changing

Together for a Better Home focuses on how digital devices can provide a better at-home experience when a device recognises the context behind users' activities.

"A user can simply move to the living room to attend a meeting on the TV, and family members are automatically notified to avoid distractions," said the brand.

"Furthermore, the robot vacuum cleaner stops operating, and the TV automatically connects to the video conference when the meeting request is made. These are the traits of Samsung Design's home of the future."

To learn more about Samsung Design visit its website.

Partnership content

This article was written by Dezeen for Samsung Design as part of a partnership. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.

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Architect Chris Wilkinson dies aged 76

Breaking news: British architect and artist Chris Wilkinson, co-founder of the RIBA Stirling Prize-winning studio WilkinsonEyre, has passed away at the age of 76.

The news of his death on 14 December was announced this morning in a short statement by WilkinsonEyre.

"It is with deep sadness that WilkinsonEyre announce the death of Chris Wilkinson on the 14 December," it read.

"Our thoughts are with his family who have requested privacy at this time."

Wilkinson founded Chris Wilkinson Architects in 1983 and headed up the practice until 1987 when his former colleague Jim Eyre became a partner.

The pair went on to establish WilkinsonEyre in 1999, before winning back-to-back RIBA Stirling Prizes in 2001 for the Magna Science Centre and in 2002 for the Gateshead Millennium Bridge.

In recognition of his contribution to architecture, Wilkinson was awarded an OBE in the Millennium Honours List.

He also received an Honorary Fellowship of the American Institute of Architecture in 2007 and holds honorary doctorates from Westminster University and Oxford Brookes University.

More to follow.

The photo of Wilkinson is by Rob Greig.

 

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Studio Seilern Architects orients white villa on Paros to follow the sun

London-based Studio Seilern Architects has completed a villa on the Greek island of Paros, designed as a cluster of white cube-shaped forms that are oriented to follow the setting sun over the Aegean Sea.

Located next to an olive grove in Makra Myti on the island's southwest coast, Paros House was designed to be a "beautiful and simple luxury living environment", finished in traditional white stucco and Greek marble.

Paros House is a villa in Greece designed by Studio Seilern Architects

The spaces of the villa are organised around an east-west axis designed to follow the path of the sun throughout the day in summer.

Cutting through the centre of the site, this axis begins with an entrance ramp to the east and ends with a long, thin infinity pool that extends westwards towards views of the Aegean Sea.

The villa has views oriented towards the sea

A bamboo pergola is punctured by a single oculus that brings sunlight into the otherwise shaded poolside lounge, finished in hand-chiseled marble.

Around this central axis, the spaces of the villa are designed as stand-alone rooms with their own entrances, set on stepped platforms of terrazzo that lead down to the pool terrace.

"The surrounding built volumes that comprise the villa are placed on overlapping terrazzo slabs, which give the appearance of floating above the soil," explained Studio Seilern.

Read:

K-studio creates stone holiday home on Mykonos overlooking the Aegean Sea

A living and dining space with a bedroom above sits in the largest central volume, which opens onto the poolside terrace via a set of sliding glass corner doors.

This block is flanked on either side by smaller en-suite bedroom blocks, each of which has its own more private terrace area sheltered by high white walls at the north and south of the site.

The interior has a minimal palette to match the exterior

Inside, the palette of "minimal material richness" is continued, with apertures framed by angled sections of hammered Alive marble and countertops and benches finished in sandblasted and chiseled stone.

"The scale of the aggregate displays calculated variation between different terrazzo surfaces, creating a subtle but vital gradation; a simple arrangement of raw materials that offers layers of intricacy," described the studio.

"These careful adjustments provide complexity without overloading the project, allowing the landscape to imbue the house with a unique formal energy appropriate for its coastal position."

The building's white walls echo the local vernacular

The white, vernacular buildings of the Aegean islands have inspired many contemporary reinterpretations for holiday villas and hotels.

Greek Practice K-Studio also made use of whitewashed walls for a holiday villa on Mykonos, and Kapsimalis Architects drew on Santorini's traditional buildings for a cubic villa overlooking the sea.

The photography is by Louisa Nikolaidou.

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