Jamie Lerner's Urban Acupuncture posits that like the body, where diseases may be cured by the prick of a needle, the scars and dead spaces of an ailing city can be stimulated and revitalised with thoughtful interventions. In this studio, students were challenged to create their own architectural acupuncture that responds to the needs of our city. In combing through the Perth CBD, students found ailing sites in need of spatial intervention.
The client was the city and the users were its many varied inhabitants. While the acupuncture may be small, its inherent connection to the people and place renders its impact large. In the second phase of this project, students looked to Peter Zumthor's Atmospheres and developed the Space, Form, Structure and Material of their scheme to resonate with experiential quality. The carefully composed evocative drawings and perspectives are the manifestation of their attempt to repair the torn urban fabric of the city, through small yet highly considered moments of architecture.
