A Garden of Cultures

A Garden of Cultures: Cultivating Urban Harmony Through Biocultural Design .

A Sustainable Architectural Complex for Multicultural Integration and Environmental Stewardship

‘Arriving in Melbourne as a child refugee I came, like the waves of migrants before and after me, seeking new beginnings bringing stories, hopes and my culture like a seed hoping to take root. Cities, and the subcultures within them, are like gardens; they require love, knowledge care, diversity and cultivation to flourish and endure. This proposal looks at new ways this could be supported and achieved'.

CENTER FOR LIVING SYSTEMS: A NEXUS OF INDIGENOUS WISDOM, CULTURAL HERITAGE, AND ECOLOGICAL INNOVATION

CITY AT A CROSS-ROADS

Following millennia of indigenous habitation, a small European colony has grown to become home to people from over 200 countries, speaking 233 languages with 116 faiths. While rated one of the worlds ‘most liveable cities’, Melbourne faces deep challenges from rapid growth, congestion, rising inequality, environmental pressures and ethnic tensions. As the recent national Infrastructure Australia Future Cities report noted, ‘inaction is not an option, nor is business as usual’.

CULTURE AT ROOT

While there are many community-based cultural groups and the Government’s Division of Multicultural Affairs and Social Cohesion, much of the potential within Melbourne’s cultural diversity remains untapped and under-appreciated. ‘The public conversation often focuses on infrastructure like roads, but it is the city’s cultural infrastructure - the perspectives of our cultures through which we communicate, see the world and make decisions - that will shape the city’s future’.

Each culture brings its own perspective and insights, many of which are relevant to the challenges at hand. ‘After over 50,000 years of sustainable habitation imagine what we could learn from the Traditional Owners’ knowledge of the land here?’ notes the architect. ‘In a globalising world sharing our knowledge can become a medicine that nourishes, supports and guides us. The challenge is how to better benefit from that wisdom and develop respect and understanding for our different cultures for a shared vision for the future.’

Many current and future challenges stem from pressures on the natural world. ‘We cannot talk about the insight of cultures such as my own without talking about connection to nature because for us there is no separation. And we cannot talk about sustainability without talking about human culture because how we treat nature is a product of our relationship with it’.

image_3_High_Res_final02_copy_29.04.18_w

A NEW FOCUS

A Garden of Cultures proposes a multi-use precinct to strengthen existing community and policy functions while catalysing communication, collaboration and innovation. The precinct comprises three elements: the 12 story administrative Centre for Culture & Ecology; Culture Park focusing on indigenous, edible and locally significant planting, community and demonstration gardens and market; and the Flowers of Water Amphitheatre performance space with further community facilities and retail. The site is located adjacent the popular Federation Square and Birrarung Marr on the Yarra river, a place used for conciliation and ceremony by the indigenous Wurundjeri people for thousands of years.

THE CENTRE FOR CULTURE & ECOLOGY

Symbolising a sprouting seed with its deep red curved solar panels and shell-like sides, the 12-story main building uses biophilic approach in materials and systems design. A roof garden and extensive indoor planting integrate with water and nutrient cycling in the site’s foundations and parkland. The Centre has a dual practice and research agenda. ‘The benefits of co-locating diverse and cross-functional teams is well established. And when we understand our city as both a literal and metaphorical garden it makes sense to co-locate thinking and practice about culture and ecology. Culture-focused administrative, research and teaching functions for community, private and government based groups are complemented with parallel structures for urban & building ecology, food and natural resource management.

KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER

A major proposed focus of the Centre’s work is knowledge transfer and community engagement. On-site research would feed into on and off-site programs and activities including community garden plots and workshops to then feed back into research. ‘We know already many benefits flow from greening our cites and the Centre would support and promote local research at different scales. But to truly care for nature we need to connect and there is no better way than building a life where we consciously explore our interdependence. As they have long been in many cultures, culture and food cultivation can be a bridge both to nature and each other when made a daily part of our lives.

We also understand in cites the power of dedicated public places and A Garden of Cultures proclaims the vitality and values of multiculturalism in the heart of the city. But on this ancient site it also brings people together in practical ways to connect to place, to cultivate food and relationships that nourish each other and the city around them’.

'On this ancient site this proposal brings people together in practical ways to connect to place, to cultivate food and relationships that nourish each other and the city around them.'

‘The work within Centre for Culture, shaped like an opening seed, finds full flower in the public space of the amphitheatre, a new agora for the emerging polis. From under the protective shelter of this flower new life emerges to sustain the land and it’s people’.

FLOWERS OF WATER AMPHITHEATRE

Across from the main building and symbolising the protective canopy of Flowers of Water, is a 3000-seat amphitheatre with river-side seating for another 3000. Beneath the seating is located a community centre with office and multi-purpose rooms, a gallery space and eateries with river-side retail. Retractable woven fabric roofing within the Flowers of Water Amphitheatre structure allows all-weather use while the extended seating area allows viewing for river-based activities.
Within the amphitheatre floor are set symbols inspired by the river life of the area and the architect’s cultural background. Within the floor, an opalescent symbol representing the multiplicity of Melbourne's cultures and perspectives, emerges from amber representing the land’s ancient memory of human habitation.

'It is through performance and ritual that cultures often connect and understand each other. And what better place than a site specifically used for conciliation and ceremony for thousands of years'.

A consultation was conducted with the Cultural Consultation team of The Wurundjeri Council as part of the development of this project.

This project acknowledges the Wurundjeri people as the traditional custodians of this land and pays respect to their Elders, past, present and emerging.