Pomona in the spotlight

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QUT Architecture students will take a fresh look at Pomona on March 12.

Pomona in the spotlight

BY BRIAN O'CONNOR

ONCE a year, the people of Pomona have an opportunity to re-imagine how their town could look, when architectural students from the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) arrive to inquire about what characteristics make the place special.

More than 100 students will be in Pomona on Saturday, March 12 to ask residents about how they live, play and generally appreciate the town – and to examine what could work better.

Groups of students are then assigned a major building to redesign, based on the feedback from their "clients".

In past years, the locations examined have included The Majestic Theatre, the Noosa Shire Museum and the pavilion at the showgrounds.

Student assignments must be ready mid-year and students are marked on their interpretation and design in keeping with Pomona’s ‘tin and timber’ colonial streetscapes.

This is the ninth year that the students have made this annual pilgrimage as part of their studies.

This association began when townsfolk were dissatisfied with the austere industrial design of the new fire station in Reserve St.

As a result, the help of the QUT architectural students was sought to rework the plans along the lines of what exists today. The determination of people to have a fire station in keeping with the town ‘vibe’ convinced the Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES) to amend the plans substantially. Today, the citizen-designed fire station takes pride of place in town.

The three students involved -- Henri Chau, Josh Pyke and Ololade Adeniyi – subsequently moved successfully into their professional careers.

Ololade Adeniyi, the youngest of the students, said she had learned to interact effectively with people of different age groups, genders, occupations and ideals to strike the balance reflected in the final design concepts.

“I am very grateful to the Pomona community for giving me my first opportunity to gain hands-on experience in professional architectural practice,” she said.

Describing his experience as ‘humbling’, Josh Pyke said that he had discovered that effective consultation was the key to fostering good design solutions.

Henri Chau said: “As a university student, real world experience with clients does not come often. This opportunity allowed me to gain valuable insight, not only into working with clients, but also with government departments.”

The nature of the exercise involving the QUT students has meant that locals have not had the opportunity to see the result of their labours. That will change this year when Marissa Lindquist, an award-winning architect and Senior Lecturer at the QUT School of Design, organises a display of past students’ work at the Pomona Memorial Hall on the same day that the students are in town.

Posters and mock-up re-interpretations of Pomona’s major buildings will be on show.

Following the students’ visit in 2021, four student interpretations of Stan Topper Park were presented to Noosa Shire Councillors and senior staff, ahead of the finalisation of plans to install trailhead facilities associated with the upgrade of Noosa Biosphere Trails between Pomona and Cooran.

The Council is discussing additional tree planting in the park with organisers of Pomona Country Markets .

This year, the QUT students will focus particularly on the Pomona Showgrounds and the Rural Futures Centre, headquarters for Noosa and District Landcare.