Introduction ‘3 Over 4 Under’ is an annual forum presented by Merge, providing an opportunity for three established practices and four emerging practices to present and discuss current works. Theme: On Forgotten Location: The Bakery, 233 James Street, Northbridge, Western Australia Speakers: Overs Cameron Chisholm Nicol, Donaldson + Warn, Sandover Pinder Unders Finespun, CoDesign Studio + UDLA, Barbeque Studios, Spacemarket/Post Architecture
‘On Forgotten’ is the theme for this year’s event, the 9th in our themed series previously exploring ‘On Home’‘On Site’‘On Weathering’‘On Language’‘On re-use’ ‘On Idea’ ‘On Technology’ and ‘On Rejuvenation’. On Forgotten In Perth this year, the architectural spotlight has hovered over high profile projects Perth Arena and Brookfield Place. Both claimed multiple prizes at the state Architecture Awards for the significant positive changes they have made to the way the public interact with our city. Lest we forget, not so long ago these sites were unknown to the crowds that frequent them today. Overlooked and/or under appreciated, our built environment unknowingly bleeds forgotten spaces. How can we transform these mis/dis-used spaces into exciting design opportunities? We hope that this year’s 3 Over 4 Under forum titled “On Forgotten” will stimulate discourse on forgotten spaces around us and their significance in our city’s architectural fabric. Mimi Cho, Merge August 2013
1
‘On Forgotten’
2
r e v i t a l i s i n g
|suburban
overlooked underappreciated
spaces
3
Peter Keleman
Cameron Chisholm Nicol
4
Name of Practice: Cameron Chisholm Nicol Name of Principals Dominic Snellgrove, Peter Keleman, Keat Tan, Duncan Jordan, Gavin Broom and Greg Salter. Date of Practice Commencement 1884 (JW Wright) and Cameron Chisholmn and Nicol from 1958. Size of office: Extra Large (40+) Small (1-5), Medium (6-15), Large (16-25), Extra Large (26 & up) Practice Statement Cameron Chisholm Nicol designs for people, place and planet. From these three perspectives we arrive at carefully attuned solutions anchored to sound commercial principles. Ongoing Research: Cameron Chisholm Nicol undertakes research on a project by project basis. Recent examples include Sports stadium trends, Sustainability ratings tools and guidelines. Current Projects: (key projects for the night) - Sheffield House, Hay St perth - Church House, Cathedral Square Perth - Heirloom Apartments, Fort Knox Fremantle
5
6
On Forgotten Adaptive Re-Use Almost all architectural developments involve the transformation of land for new or revitalised uses. These developments can be categorised into 2 broad typologies, being: Green-field / Brown-field developments or the adaptive re-use of existing structures. Perth Arena is a prime example of a brown-field redevelopment, located as a catalyst for urban renewal in an undervalued part of central Perth. What was an at-grade carpark built on former railway shunting yards which was in turn built on former swamp lands as part of Perth’s groundwater-fed shallow lake system, has now been transformed into an iconic entertainment venue, reflecting our new-found maturity as an international city. However it is the adaptive re-use projects recently undertaken or in progress by Cameron Chisholm Nicol that also deserve attention, as despite the sometimes compelling economics of redeveloping sites through knock down and re-build with changes in planning policy and limitations of existing structures, there are significant numbers of buildings where adaptive reuse is more economically viable, makes sense from a sustainable design perspective and /or retains buildings of architectural integrity and urban spaces of social and cultural significance, for future generations. Sheffield House - Perth, Church House - Cathedral Square and Heirloom Apartments -Fort Knox in Fremantle, represents 3 different approaches to adaptive re-use, undertaken by Cameron Chisholm Nicol. Cameron Chisholm Nicol October 2013
7
Patrick Miller
Finespun
8
Name of Practice: FINESPUN Architecture Name of Principal: Patrick Miller Date of Practice Commencement: 2009 Size of office: Small (2-3) Small (1-5), Medium (6-15), Large (16-25), Extra Large (26 & up) Practice Statement: FINESPUN Architecture is a small architectural studio based in Maylands servicing residential (mmm……selected ones), commercial and industrial projects. We are driven by practical and clever design solutions, basic materials and standard construction techniques which are crafted to suit the specific requirements of each project’s brief, its context and the client’s vision. We aim to pursue the unhidden in each project to add value to otherwise overlooked spaces and ideas, choosing efficiency in the decisions we make. Ongoing Research: Occasional teaching at Curtin and pondering non-architectural ways to not make architecture the sole means of my pondering. Current Projects (key projects for the night): - Mechanics Institute & Flipside Burgers - Jolimont Apartments - Blake Street Restaurant - Solomons Cafe - Mrs Brown Bar - North Fremantle Town Hall
9
10
On Forgotten We love working with forgotten spaces. We love walking into these forgotten spaces with clients and seeing that probing look in their eyes. They’re waiting for recognition in our faces too. An acceptance of the potential, that what they see is supported. It’s a wonderful thing when it’s right. We love uncovering and stripping back the layers of time and adding value to spaces long deemed as unusable, too hard or too old, aiming to uncover its simple nature and perhaps expose a little of its history for people to appreciate again - breathing new life whilst respecting the forgotten-ness. This theme relates to my forgotten origins in building and architecture; how the past coats of time and experience have directed my choices and added to my own fabric. Those forgotten choices, projects and clients, especially the difficult ones, add layers of experience and knowledge, all part of the unfolding story of becoming better at what you do. It reminds you to look back in time every now again to remember the past and helps direct the future. However, there are those few projects and a few clients which should be left in the past – best we forget. Patrick Miller October 2013
11
Hanna Torii + Fiona Hurse
CoDesign Studio + UDLA
12
Name of Practice: CoDesign Studio UDLA Name of Principals: CoDesign Studio Lucinda Hartley, Kate Ferguson and Hugh Adamson UDLA Greg Grabasch Date of practice commencement: CoDesign Studio 2010 UDLA 2006 Size of office: CoDesign Studio Small (full time staff members), Extra Large (volunteer base 500+) UDLA Large Small (1-5), Medium (6-15), Large (16-25), Extra Large (26 & up) Practice Statement: CoDesign Studio is a multi-disciplinary social enterprise that works with communities, professionals and service providers to build social inclusion through neighbourhood improvement projects. We use a participatory approach to urban revitalisation that generates empowerment, social capital and environmental improvement, making projects fast, efficient and fun. Our teams of multi-disciplinary volunteers work with disadvantaged communities in Australia and internationally. UDLA are a landscape architect / urban design practice. UDLA are committed to a strong sustainable, social and environmental philosophy. Our design philosophy hinges on the understanding that the health of a community has a symbiotic relationship with how empowered participants are engaged with their environment, or have a say in changing their existing condition into a preferred one. Ongoing research: CoDesign Studio Community development, International development, Participatory design, Tactical urbanism, and Wellbeing. Current projects (key projects for the night): - Karawara Public Open Space Masterplan & Collaborative Action Plan 13
On Forgotten Karawara The Karawara suburb of South Perth is a unique and significant local example of the ‘Radburn’ planning design philosophy. This is characterised by a series of extensive open space corridors and clear separation of pedestrian and vehicular modes of transport. The initial intent of the Radburn philosophy in 1929 was to encourage a feeling of openness and engagement among residents as a community. However, shifting social trends since its inception have begun to reject some of the original planning methodology. For example the need to feel more secure through fencing of lot boundaries, limiting visual permeability and passive surveillance. In order to address a myriad of spatial and social concerns, a master plan has been developed through an extensive community engagement process. The agreed master plan developed by the Karawara residents, stakeholders, aboriginal community and The City of South Perth goes beyond the original scope to develop a collaborative action plan for Karawara and includes 14 implementable projects. Take a journey through the Karawara project and discover how this inclusive process provides participants with the opportunity to take ownership and contribute to this forgotten space. CoDesign Studio + UDLA October 2013
15
Geoff Warn
Donaldson and Warn
16
Name of Practice: Donaldson and Warn Name of Principals: Geoff Warn and Dick Donaldson Date of Practice Commencement: 1985 Size of office: Large to Extra Large Small (1-5), Medium (6-15), Large (16-25), Extra Large (26 & up) Practice Statement: Architecture generates a particular form of knowledge and sensibility that has, through the methodological application of certain tools, technologies and practices, both specific and general application. We endeavour to keep architecture’s scope and its instrumentality in the foreground of our discourse. Ongoing Research: Effective strategies of realisation with high levels of design ambition. Current Projects (key projects for the night): - Old Port Arthur Head Reserve, Fremantle
17
On Forgotten Remembrance of Things Past Knowledge is embedded in place. Urban knowledge encapsulates political, economic, socio-cultural and environmental issues. A place’s information is complex and multi-layered. To filter, interpret and re-present this information in a manner that is thoughtfully engaging requires a curatorial perspective and an interdisciplinary approach. The aim is to conceptualise a sense of place and to realise this in a form that stimulates affective bonds between people and place. For the re-visioning of Fremantle’s Old Port we were given the responsibility for the spatial organisation of site-specific objects and activities and for the interpretation of past events. This required the managerial co-ordination of the consultant team and the collation of a considerable amount of information that the team collected. We saw the opportunity to adopt a framework through which this information could be edited, organised and re-presented. By adopting Fremantle’s Identity Code the immediate site was reconceptualised as contiguous to the city and an urban solution became evident. A theory-practice relationship is not easy to manifest, but in this case the theoretical principle underpinning the Identity Code was a helpful tool for composing the site and reconnecting the place to its historical and physical contexts. The result is distinctive and nuanced in a manner that differs to the dominant approach to place making. Geoff Warn October 2013
19
Byron Last
Barbeque Studios
20
Name of Practice: Barbeque Studios Name of Principals: Byron & Lisa Last Date of Practice Commencement: April 2013 Size of office: Small (3) Small (1-5), Medium (6-15), Large (16-25), Extra Large (26 & up) Practice Statement: BBQ studios is a small architectural and design group, formed this year by three family members; Byron, Lisa & Rebekah Last. With a diverse range of experiences, each serves up a unique skill set to the BBQ. The studio is working to expand its narrative further into its setting, and to have others entertain and be entertained by the BBQ vision. And so.., while our portfolio is modest, we are striving for truths and meaning in a grand vision; it’s of a gigantic BBQ. But that would be to arrive at the conclusion‌ Ongoing Research: Research by practice - Barbeque Studios Narrative Development Research by Teaching - Architectural Design Studio co-ordination at UWA Current Projects (key projects for the night): - The Last House 2014 - The Right House 2013 - Counter Unconscious (Bar Design Competition) 2012 - Salvation Looped 2010
21
22
On Forgotten BBQ Studios will present a tale; a set of stories accumulated in time and inscribed into our constructed surrounds. Stories we hope will eventually expose our unconscious practices as the remembered absurd and transform real estate purchases into the home. And it is our home where we wish to begin and end our story, with its spaces simultaneously containing tragedy and joy, of birth and death, and the coming of age. So readily can the credulous consumer, be seduced by perceived market assertions, and aesthetics and style. In turn the credulous us so easily forget, or ignore, the truer significance we could install. To engage the public with an emphasis on these stories, we suspect, will be to prompt their conscious consideration of our future domain. And in turn to diminish the importance of maximised ceilings, of a second Living and of a dedicated movie screen room. We hope that the story will end with a designed urbanity of equity and resilience, one engaging with the consequences of our current ill-considered excess. This is the ‘On Forgotten’ we wish to engage and the vision of the world we wish others to entertain, and be entertained by, so therefore sustain. Barbeque Studios October 2013
23
Nic Brunsdon
Spacemarket/ Post Architecture
24
Name of Practice: Spacemarket/Post Architecture Name of Principals: Nic Brunsdon and Beth George Date of Practice Commencement: March 2011 Size of office: Small(ish) Small (1-5), Medium (6-15), Large (16-25), Extra Large (26 & up) Practice Statement: Spacemarket is a not-for-profit organisation that seeks to engender lasting change across greater Perth by matchmaking; connecting its unloved and disused urban spaces with individuals and businesses looking for unusual, eccentric, and unconventional premises. Spacemarket perceived a gap between the owners and agents of empty spaces in Perth and those people who have a desire to inhabit them. In the two years that Spacemarket has been running, they have facilitated over 200 pairings in inner and greater Perth. Post-, the project arm of Spacemarket, is an afterwards- architecture. Post- is so named for its largely subsequent nature. Post- believe in dreaming big and operating precisely. The work involves the study of, engagement with, and careful intervention into existing spaces, buildings and urban settings. Post-’s concerns and projects are divergent, but its persistent obsession is with shifting and augmenting neglected buildings and urban spaces. Post-advocate for a bubbling and prolific city and are architectural activists, protagonists for Perth and agents for change. Ongoing Research: Brunsdon and George are both lecturers at Curtin University and UWA respectively. Current concerns are Urbanism and Perthness. Small things in big space and big thoughts in small space. Current Projects (key projects for the night): - MYRE Fremantle 25
26
On Forgotten Loss We don’t think things are ever really ‘forgotten’. That would mean they’ve slipped from our periphery or were never there to begin with. Long since gone or never known. How can they be forgotten? Vacant buildings are hulking but still at hand, something lost can be felt and known, the idea of something can dance and live eternal. All present in all ways. We think that in the context of this forum ‘forgotten’ actually supposes a sense of loss or a pining for what was or what should be. On ‘loss’. What have we lost? Nic Brunsdon October 2013
27
Catherine Watts
Sandover Pinder
28
Name of Practice: Sandover Pinder Architects Name of principals: David Karotkin and Peter Giangiulio Date of practice commencement: 1995 merger of Sandover Architects and Pinder & Partners (formerly Hassell’s first Perth office) Size of office: Large (24) Small (1-5), Medium (6-15), Large (16-25), Extra Large (26 & up): Practice Statement: Our work is predominately based across West Australia but we have some major built works China and Indonesia. We work across a range of project sizes and across diverse portfolios including Sport & Recreation; Health; Education; Aviation; Police, Fire & Emergency services; Performing Arts; Adaptive Reuse; Industrial; Commercial; and the occasional residential project. We enjoy the challenges of the unusual and complex projects with which seem to find ourselves. Ongoing Research: As a firm who will give any type of project a crack, we are always researching and learning about our constant stream of more unusual clientele, in order to create optimised environments for them. At the moment it is Aestivating Tortoises and Pole Vaulters.  Current Projects (key projects for the night): - WA Ballet Centre, Maylands - 572 Hay Street - Pier St Collective 29
30
On Forgotten Perth has been described as a gawky adolescent, with a haste to grow up into a Melbourne, New York etc. We would like to believe that we are edging towards the latter teens when you start to explore individualism and discover your own inherit qualities, trying on a few less mainstream cultures in the quest for self identity, maybe picking up a regrettable relationship and/or tattoo in the process. This haste to grow and be taken seriously results in overlooked spaces which are now being uncovered as exciting opportunities. Â Like the rediscovery of vintage toys and gadgets, old buildings can appeal to the nostalgia and memory of one crowd whilst others respect the authenticity and crafted honesty that cannot be recreated in a new piece. As you work through one of these projects forgotten elements are revealed which demand flexibility and an evolutionary design process; Forgotten memories are revealed which demand sensitivity and respect; and in the complexity of the project there is always some forgotten technical element which has to be dealt with on the fly, necessity is also the mother of innovation. Rediscovering the forgotten can be frustratingly challenging but is always richly rewarding. Sandover Pinder October 2013
31
The 3 Over 4 Under forum was brought to you by MERGE - Emerging Architects www.3over4under.com