the shape of things near water

a lower pool landscape design studio lecturers cath stutterheim with lucas patetl fridays from 9.30 till 6.30pm room still to be decided.

the case study of this studio is Lara, a small rural town established in 1824, off the main freeway between Melbourne and Geelong (Melway
p423). The flood plain banks of the Hovell Creek, which flows through it from the You Yangs to the Bay, create open space that divides the towns housing.

the context of the design work is the worlds growing realisation of the value of vegetated outdoor living to public well being, faced by loss of natural environment through civic development and climate change. Laras desire is to protect the rural lifestyle of its 11,000 people: however, its fabric is consolidating towards the energy-hungry rail and freeway. the design brief is to reconsider the potential of the river environments left over spaces, to become public destinations for outdoor activity, relaxation and enjoyment of natural systems, by considering alternative roles for and new relationships of these negative voids of the creek to Laras other urban components. Can low energy use, unifying forms, links and circulation contribute to a better balance of the urban fabric of Lara? the research
a b you will draw on support systems at Lara which have already been established through a previous Upper Pool Studio that considered the overall urban fabric of Lara: Introduction to the open space strategy of Geelong City Council and its Urban Design officers, A lecture by an environmentalist from the Corangamite Catchment Authority, which is responsible for this area as an environmental water reserve undergoing seachange and treechange. Collaboration with Lara Secondary Schools Science program, A walk with Kevin Hoffman, along the garden of botanical significance on the flanks of the Hovel Creek that he has established over 20 years, Class discussion about the design approach and forms of three recent water side public space precedents in Australia and New Zealand. You will learn about Lara through site investigations of your own and in groups: record and consider specific aspects of the site through its sectional relationships with reference to given contours; experiential qualities and components through drawing and critical photographic analysis. Trains run regularly from Melbourne to Lara station, and there is a central gathering space available to us.

the design outcome This studio is NOT about constructing wetlands or ecology. It assumes that (although threatened) such systems exist as
realities as much as do air, seasons and birdlife. Rather, it requires that you design form for human use, which will promote realisation, enjoyment and reflection of these natural phenomena. This will require you to work precisely with existing, using your earlier sectional drawings as the base to make places from given contours and levels of the river banks paths and abutments, and consider such factors as relationships to the water, views, orientation, an existing vegetation.

skill building The studio will provide the opportunity to extend and consolidate the skills you have learned in Environments and in the Stairs Studios, and further develop your critical drawing skills including AutoCAD and Rhino competence.