Nungalinya College Design Proposal by Audrey Chak

BDES2027 Studio 2B

Nungalinya College Design Proposal

Audrey Chak

Contents

The College

The Proposal

The Modules

The Hearth

In Between Space

Conversation with the living landscape

Precedent List

The Brief The designs proposal aims to provide a solution for the expansion of Nungaliya College, which is an indigenous adult education college based in Casuarina. Nungalinya seeks to provide more accomodation for students and teachers, including accomodation for 18 students and 6 staff with up to 2 family members. Sited in the tropics of Darwin, Northern Territory, the scheme demands for a responsive design to climate that provide for the dry and season seasons, as well as monsoons and humidity. The college belongs to the Aboriginal community and it is reflected through their connection to the land. The design proposal aims to develop a deeper understanding of the Indigenous culture and come to a design outcome that is people oriented.

Research on Indigenous Culture and lifestyle Design: Building on Country by Alison Page and Paul Memmott

Understanding the Aboriginal mindset and their habitual patterns is key when designing for the people. Their connection to the land and country is evident through their social-spatial behaviour. As opposed to the Western concept of home, shelter in the Aboriginal context is supplemnetary for their nomadic lfestyle. Yet they value their ties to the campsite as a place that they belong to, as “home”

This belief system is extended to the site of Nungalinyna College, which belongs to the Larrakia People, who are the Traditional Owners of the Darwin Region. The name of the college ,“Nungalinya” means “Old Man Rock,” a traditional place for learning for young men. This name is given to the college as it a place that celebrates people coming together to spread knowledge to the next generations.

Nungalinya is a college that is unique for celebrating theh diversity of individuals coming from various Indigenous backgrounds. It is a place thst provides a short term stay for respite, and offers a fresh perspective in acknowledging the complexity of Indigenous community.

Wet Season Breeze Entrance to quiet street

Dry Season

Residential Zone

Wet Season

Proposed Main Entrance Buffer Zone

Proposed gathering spot

Public Zone

Dry Season Breeze

Mango Tree

Shaded public gathering spaces

Client research (Site visit with Jim Waston) The site visit provided insight into the kinship and cultural considerations that impacted the spatial arrangement of the college. Understanding the kinship relationships would further inform design decisions. There is a strong connection between the people and the external environment 8

Nungalinya College site plan and analysis The exsisting conditions of the college suggests a popularity amongst shaded spots under trees, for being to block out the harsh sunlight without comprimising ventilation. Gathering sppots are considered as an extension to the new addition of the college, whilst the entrance is in close proximity to the rest of the college 9

Site Master Plan

The heart

The living space

A central gathering spot that is accessible to all. A place to exchange stories and songlines

Radial arrangement in reference to Aboriginal nomadic campsite arrangement, where people regularly come back to a centre point that is usually religious or a watersource. Here, the heart representation of cultural diversity

The little paths Small private gardens on the outskirts creating quiet pockets of space for more intimate gatherings

Spatial arrangement diagram

The Modules

Concept Drivers Yilli Reung, meeting place A place that celebrates the Larrakia tradition of passing down knowledge through exchanging stories and songlines. Providing flexibility to gather for multiple uses

The outdoor people

giving voice to the communty through the living landscape

Sense of belonging

‘In between’

creating a welcoming college that supports diversity by providing a place of unity and strength that is inclusive of different culture and backgrounds

alluding to the landscape with thresholds, creating cohesion between indoors and outdoors

Cultural Design Principles

Softening Edges

Quality of Entrance

Flexibility

Incorporating greenery into living space for more customisation. Encourage engagement through responsibility of taking care of vegetation

Wide steps leading up to generous verenda to create a spacious and comfortable environment

Modules are designed with a range of privacy in mind, catering to individuals and families

Patterns of Sunlight

Visual Connection

The Outdoor Room

Inspired by wika temporary shelters built by the Aboriginal people. The use of layering roof and cladding materials to diffuse sunlight into the interior in order to create a comfortable environment for respite

Modules are orientated towards the communal hub, encourages participation in daily activities in the college. Able to see peolple appraoching from afar

Veranda as intermediate space between entry and bedroom, privat and public

Washing

Movement

Multiple Access

The sink is located outdoors, providing visual access to greenery. Communal sink encourages social engagement

Bathroom are accessible via walkway as a deliberate movement from indoors to outdoors to encourage more interaction with outdoor environment

Exits on both front and back of the unit, easier access to avoid unwanted confrontation in kinship groups

Passive Design Principles

Deep eaves

Steep roof pitch

Secondary shading devices

at north and south facing wall to Extensive roof overhangs to provide shade to walls and cope with tropical rainstorms

To allow for compression of pressure between indoors and outdoors during cyclone season

Claddings and roof layerings are locally sourced and made to ensure maintaintence and reapir

Elevated ground

Structural framework

Provide protection from openings

To provide air flow below for cooling effect in hot and humid weather. Also as flood prevention

Steel and hardwood framework with bolts and cleat fixings to withstand lateral load during monsoon season

solid wood material provides protection against flying objects

Breathing Skin

Breezeways

Horizontal Rain

Provide both fixed and adjustable openings to cope with heat in dry season and humidity in the wet

Central breezeway captures prevailing breezes and is utilised as a communal space. Allow for user adaptation such as eating, sleeping, sitting

Fixed louvers for rain protection without comprimising air flow during humid seasons

Student Module Plan

Student Module Section

Teachers Module Plan

Teachers Module Section

Teachers Module with Disabled Access Plan

Teachers Module with Disabled Access Section Plan

05 01

Communal Living

Deep Eaves

Softening Edges

Steep Roof Pitch

10 04

Transitionary Space

Elevated ground

Breathing Skin

07 11

Deep Verenda

Structural Framework

Quality of Entry

Mutiple exits

Movement

Washing

1. Communal Living: visual access to whats happening through out the day, encourage particpation in activities as part of a communal lifestyle 2. Deep Eaves: extensive roof overhangs to provide shade to walls and cope with tropical storms 3. Softening Edges: blurring the man made into the landscape to connect to nature 4. Transitionary Space: veranda as intermediate space between entryand bedroom, private and public 5. Steep Roof Pitch: to allow room for compression of pressure between indoors and outdoors during cyclone season 6. Breathing Skin: roof openings, timber louvers and windows on all four walls to allow seasonal breezes in for thermal comfort 7. Structure: Steel and hardwood framework to withstand lateral load during monsoon season 8. Mutiple exits: on both front and back of the unit, easier access to avoid unwanted confrontation in kinship groups

Responding to seasons

9.Quality of Entry: wide steps leading up to generous verenda as a spacious and comfortable environment 10. Elevated grond: to provide air flow below for cooling effect in hot and humid weather. Also as flood prevention. Guest can be seen from afar 11. Deep verenda: central breezeway is utilised as a communal space with built in furniture without blocking wind flow for natural ventillation. allow user adaptation 12. Movement: bathroom are accessible via walkway as a deliberate movement from indoors to outdoors to encourage more interaction with outdoor environment 13. Washing: sink is located outdoors, providing visual access to greenery. Communal sink in encourages more social interaction 14. Responding to seasons: swale utilised as path in dry season. Creates a sound barrier for the garden during the wet season

Student Module Perspective Section 24

Roof Corrugated Steel, rain and cyclone proof

Roof Truss Hardwood timber roof truss, steel cleats fixing

Cladding Rain protection: timber louvers, plywood panel Sun filter: Pandanus canopy and wall hinge system

Construction Detail: Timber Connections

Framework Steel post to hardwood timber beam and stud

Student Module Model

1:50

Materials

Pandanus

Bamboo

Rain Protection

Bamboo reed

Wall System

Timber louvers

A series of cladding made from different materials that can be sourced on site. The cladding are made from natural materials that allow for ventilation, whilst providing protection from sun or rain. Being locally sourced, these walls can be easily maintained when needed. the construction of the claddings are simple and accessible, which involves attaching materials to a frame. Weaving materials is a local craftsmenship technque is commonly used amongst the aborginal people. Inspired by the craft of basket weaving with pandanus mats, shading devices can be created with varying porousity for degrees of privacy.

Solar filter

Bamboo stalk

Pandanus leaves

Bamboo reed

Defining the Edges Pivot screen openings as privacy barrier that can be open during different times of the day, which provides the flexibility for privacy according to the user. The edges is permeable as it provides opportunity for users to have intimate gatherings with people who are outside of the accomodation. The edge no longer defines a room, but a system that facilitates gatherings and engaging conversation

A day in a life in the student module 30

The Hearth The central hub of the college that is never asleep. It is a place where students and teachers alike come together and connect through story telling. It provides a framework that facilitates daily activities.

Zones

Access

Shade

Expansion

The path connects the extreme points along the site boundary, diving the modules into three zones

The central space as a the heart of the student teacher community. The path along the modules provide easy access

3 pavillions surrounding a tree at the center, celebrating the importance of natural shade and providing secondary congregation spots during the wet season

Expanding the central zone to allow the pavillion to form a “path” that is accessible from all modules. Shading is providing all along the perimeter to encourage freedom to circulate and pause

Communal Kitchen

Pavillion for a range of uses

Defining the edges

Responding to Climate

Porosity

Food as the universal language, barbeque station to encourage social engagement through cooking. Edible garden with native plants to promote eating seasonally

Providing a communal space that can be accomodated to use for anytime of the day and year

A framework that prioritises user freedom and provides ranges of spots for gatherings

Allows users to occupy the space in both wet and dry seasons. Roof conditions provides solar and rain protection

The pavilion responds to the function of the tree as a light diffuser. Materials are layered to prevent the space from heating up

Edible planter wall

Spaces to do things The pavillion provides a framework for different activities to happen. The bamboo post and beam provides surfaces and supports that can be used to facilitate the activity depending on the user

Freedom to create

Sitting edges

The Hearth Pavilion Plan Cooking

Intimate gatherings

Pavillion, different edge conditions 42

The Hearth Pavilion, Isometric view 46

Section detail, various panel arrangement

The rotating plywood panel installed along the sides of the beam provides opportunity for different use depending on how the users engages with it. It can be leaned on, as a bench and also a table

In Between Spaces It is the zone between public and private, its the grey zone between black and white. It mediates between the two, blurring the boundaries and manifests a new spatial quality.

Intimate Spaces Establish a close connection with the the land to create a sense of belonging

Indoors, outdoor

Weaving paths

Blurring the indoor and outdoor boundary with a visual connection to the landscape

Stepping stones provide intersection moments as a reflection songlines crossing paths

Quiet Nooks

Places to share stories

Feathering edges

Providing moments of pause along the journey

Pockets of spaces for the opportunity to share stories amongst the community

Edges of structures blend seamlessly into the landscape to ackowledge the land

Sounds of the place

Privacy gradient screens

Acoustic thresholds from wildlife such as migratory birds, insects and water from swales

Height and density of vegetation as seperation barrier between public and private zones

Scented paths Olfactory thresholds as a way to extablish connection to place 53

Long section of student module, teacher module and pavillion

Different space conditions

Circulation Swale path dividing garden as quiet zone

Opportunities for conversations

Privacy barrier

Shared spaces in between modules for moderate size gatherings

In between vegetable garden seperating public and private

Stretchable space Sheltered path catering various gathering sizes and a transitional space to inner courtyard

Inside, outside connection

Soft Edges

Entrance to module as intermediate zone for intimate gatherings

Softening edges allowing building to be part of the landscape

Proposed threshold conditons

Swell path to garden

Eastern entrance from campus

Western edge

A journey through the site 58

Materials building materials for maintence and repair

Edibles Bush tucker, fruits and buds

Medicinal natural remedies for common cold and sores

Fragrant, Bird and Butterfly attracting a welcoming entrance to the accomodation Sensory Experience

Cultural garden

Giving back

Sharing resources

Weaving scents of flowering and non flowering plants as a guiding journey through the campus, allows user to draw association to place

To acknowledge the traditional owners the land, the landscape responds Larrakia seasonal patterns

Planting encourages community engagement and promotes the idea of being responsible for the land, which is apparent in Indigenous culture

Native plants that thrive in Darwin climate provide the needs for the users

Plants respond to seasonal patterns, as a way of sharing Indigenous knowledge

Students and teachers contribute to the land during their short term of stay

Hunter gathering lifestyle: Planting provides edible, medicinal, and building materials Master Roof Plan

Conversations with the living landscape

The proposed landscape of the college regconises the importance of connecting wtih country.The landscape reflects the aspirations of the college “Nungaliny,”as a place for passing down knowledge, by providing opportunities to learn from the flora and fauna of the owners of the land. Visitors from other Indegenous communities embark on their own journey as they experience the culture of the Larrakia people.

Edible landscapes

Inspired by the hunter gather lifestyle, the landscape offers seasonal bush tuckers and edible plants. The scheme promotes a sense of belonging as a community with sharing resources and contributing back by caring for the environment.

Red Bush Apple fibrous white flesh is tinged with purple-red hues, sweet taste, bloom with white flowers

Blueberry Lily sweet edibke blue purple berries & nutty seeds plant roof pounded and roasted for eating strappy leaves used for cord and string blue lilac flowers in bloom

Mango fleshy yellow stone fruit

Bush Potato

Dundil Peanut

small vine like shrub, blooms with purple flowers

edible black seeds resembling peanuts in taste

cooked on warm earth under coals

bright orange/red seed pods

a totemic plant and features strongly in indigenous mythology

leaves used to treat wounds and stings bark used in traditional fibrecraft

Our building environment

Sourcing local materials on site is a cost effective way to replenish structural defects. Light weight bamboo framed pavillion could be easily maintained with the bamboo garden. Opportunities to engage with crafts withs the leaves of trees. Native flora is weaved and morphs as part of the building structure. It is breathable, yet still living.

Screw Palm

Bamboo

Scarlet Bloodrot

traditional craft, canopy

Structural, cladding

red dye

Native Okra

Native Ginger

Soap Tree

Cure for cough, sore thrat, canker sores

Spice, Inflammatory

treat headaches and sore eyes

Fragrant, Bird and Butterfly attracting landscape

Flowers in bloom not only adds another layer on the lush greenery., its the scent that attracts us to the place. Providing this sensory experience is memorable for short term visitors, allowing them to develop a sense of place. Flowerings in our landscape can be subtle but they can tell us stories about the things that we cannot easily see.

Red Kurrajiong

Yellow Kapok

Leaves fall in the dry season when brightred flowers burst from bare branches. Followed by yellow-brown woody, hair-covered seedpods.

Large yellow star shaped flowers, edible with slight spicy taste

unripe seeds make a yellow dye when they are crushed while white fluff from a ripe seed pod can be used to pad a baby’s carrier or as part of a ceremonial costume

Frangipani Cream fragrant flower turn yellow large glossy leaves providing canopy

Blue Flower Rattlepod erect single stalked perennial shrub with brilliant blue-violet pea shaped flowers

Black Wattle Large, hardy & very fast growing tree with dense foliage, creamy yellow and sweet scented flowers used for shade and windbreaks

Dry Season Dalirrgang, Build up

Wet Season Balna, Rainy season

Cock apple drops a carpet of white flowers, their sweet scent signals the build up has arrived

Sound of the tree frog brings the rain and people say Balnba guligi bigark, “Big rain coming”

Red flowering kurrajong tells Malagujina (sharks) are fat Gillnggilingba (flying fox) eat fruiting mangoes

Fruiting of green plum brings the start of wet season

Gurrulwa, Big wind time Wattle flower and seeds indicate that stingrays are fat and pletiful and is time to collect cockles Yellow Kapok is flowering, it is time for ceremonies and celebrations of life, rebirth and rejuvenation o people and country Dinidjanggama, Heavy dew time Woolybutt and stringybark eucalypts are flowering Native bees use flowers’ nectar to make Dadbinggwa (sugarbag) which is collected from tree hallows

Damibila, Barramundi and bush fruit time When there is cold wind, people say the flowers are calling the the cold weather Bush fruit season: time to collect fruits from the edible gardens! Billy goat plum is fruiting Seeds from the Dundill (bush peanut) are ready to eat Bllirrawarra (Black cockatoos) eat the fruit now and the seeds later in the dry season 76

Bush potato is flowering and can be collected

Dalay, Monsoon season Soft white flowers on cocky apple trees in bloom, indicates the first rain of the monsoon season Mindilima (Big red apple) and bush currant are is fruiting Red dye plant is fruiting, time to dye pandanus fibres for local crafts Danggalaba (saltwater crocodile) are laying eggs

Mayilema, Speargrass, goose egg & knock’em down season Flowering of Mayilema (speargrass) signifies the start of Biyinba (goose egg) collection on the floodplains Storms knock speargrass over marking the end of wet season First sign of Birrdibirripba (dragonflies) and fruiting of native cherry signify the arrival of dry season Damibila (Barramundi) move downstream from the floodplains to seawater, salmon are plentiful 77

Precedents

1. Glen Murrcutt, Marika-Alderton House, Eastern Arnhem Land, Australia, 1990-1994. 2. Benjamin G Saxe, Bamboo House , Guanacoste, Costa Rica, 2010. 3. H&P Architects, Bb Home, Hoan Kiem, Vietnam, 2013. 4. Jun Sekino, Reconstruction of baan nong bua school Chiang Rai, Thailand, 2014. 5. a+r ARCHITEKTEN, Hgih School Thazin, Ngwesaung, Myanmar, 2014. 6. AMA + Bosch Arquitectos, School in Chuquibambilla, Chuquibambilla, Peru, 2013. 7. Project Little Dream, Thon Mun Community Center, takeo, Cambodia, 2013. 8. Francis Kere, Gando’s Teachers Housing, Gando, Burkina Fas, 2004. 9. Francis Kere, Burkina Institute of Technology (BIT), Koudougou, Burkina Faso, 2020. 10, TAS Landscape Architect, Riawunna Aboriginal Studies Centre, Launceston Tasmania, 1999. 11. Merrima Design, Wilcannia Hospital Redevelopment, 2002 12. Glenn Murcutt and Troppo Architects, Bowali visitor center, New Territories, Australia, 1994.

Site Model 1:250