M: URBAN - MODIFYING THE CITY
Design Studio Ideas Competition and Exhibition
RMIT Architecture Upperpool Design Studio, Semester 01, 2007
Design Studio Leaders/Curators:
Nigel Bertram & Shane Murray, RMIT Architecture - Urban Architecture Laboratory
Partners: Committee for Melbourne Future Focus Group

below:
exhibited projects  +  committee for melbourne info  +  media articles  +  creative spaces website (2009)


EXHIBITION



Exhibition Venue:
Melbourne Central Skybridge,
Level 2, between Melbourne Central and Myers, across Lonsdale Street

Exhibition Opening:
6.00 pm, Thursday 28th June, 2007

Exhibition Times:
June 28th-July 11th

Exhibition Opening Address:
John Denton, Victorian Government Architect

Partners:
Committee for Melbourne:

Future Focus Group Projects

Media:
M:URBAN People's Choice Competition - Herald Sun Online

M:URBAN is a joint project between RMIT Architecture and the Committee for Melbourne Future Focus Group


Thanks to:

Rob Adams, City of Melbourne
John Denton, Victorian Government Architect
Melbourne Central
Herald Sun

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DESIGN STUDIO IDEAS COMPETITION



WINNING COMPETITION PROJECT
MELBOURNE VACANCY EXCHANGE
Karim Chami, Lim Teck Vee + Barend Meyer, RMIT Architecture Students

JUDGES:
Committee for Melbourne, Future Focus Group:
Sharyn McNeill, Allens Arthur Robinson
Ben Shaw, John Wertheimer & Company
Jo Willoughby, Product & Operations (A division of Australia Post)
Jeanette Fyffe, The University of Melbourne
Roy Weitzman, Corrs Chambers Westgarth
Mandi Zonneveldt, The Herald & Weekly Times
Jen Aughterson, The Robin Boyd Foundation

This competition and exhibition consists of projects completed by RMIT Architecture students as part of a specially commissioned MODIFYING THE CITY RMIT Architecture Upperpool Design Studio in semester 01, 2007 led by Nigel Bertram & Shane Murray.


RELATED PROJECT:



CREATIVE SPACES PROJECT
affordable and accessible creative project spaces website and database
www.creativespaces.net.au

Partners:
Arts Victoria / City of Melbourne
with
RMIT Design Research Institute
RMIT Urban Architecture Laboratory
Commitee for Melbourne - Future Focus Group

NEWS:
After winning the M: Urban Ideas Competition with the MELBOURNE VACANCY EXCHANGE project RMIT Architecture student Barend Meyer was subsequently funded through the RMIT Design Research Institute to research the incorporation of this project into the CREATIVE SPACES website and database for the City of Melbourne and Arts Victoria, launched in February 2009. (see below)

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DESIGN STUDIO



MODIFYING THE CITY
Design Studio Ideas Competition and Exhibition
RMIT Architecture Upperpool Design Studio, Semester 01, 2007
Design Studio Leaders/Curators:
Nigel Bertram & Shane Murray, RMIT Architecture - Urban Architecture Laboratory

Participating RMIT Architecture Upperpool Design Studio students:
Anne Laure Aliaga; Ricky Booth; Laura Bright-Davies; Sophia Burgess; Karim Chami; Scott Crowe; Ilana Freadman; Thomas Fussenegger; Jeanne Guerin; Davina Heng; Eddie Hung; Mariana Jahufer; Teck Vee Lim; Barend Meyer; Sam Perversi-Brooks


ABOUT M: URBAN - MODIFYING THE CITY

The RMIT Urban Architecture Laboratory conducted an architectural design studio in Semester 1, 2007 around the theme of 'Modifying the City' within Melbourne's CBD and surrounding areas. The studio comprised 15 upper level (3rd-4th year) architecture students. The study area included Melbourne CBD, plus adjacent areas within the City of Melbourne including Southbank, Docklands and South Carlton. The studio began with a broad-ranging inquiry into sites within this zone which are underutilised, vacant, intriguing, or are seen as having some type of (unrealised) public potential. The method of investigation has been through careful and detailed field-work by the student group – observing and documenting critical points within the city fabric.

Students worked in teams and brought their own personal readings and perceptions of the city to the project. Sites of investigation ranged from very small to very large, from obscure and hidden to highly exposed and prominent. Students focussed not only on the physical makeup of sites, but also on their social potential; on the possibilities for contribution to/interaction with the public domain. Speculative design proposals include physical alterations and programmatic/ activity based strategies. Different time-scales were investigated, including temporary and event-based uses as well as permanent fixtures in the public life of the city.

From these preliminary investigations, the students and staff then selected 7 key sites which were seen as having high potential in terms of a range of factors: public impact and visibility, potential to be achieved and links to other urban policies or commercial development strategies. In this exhibition we have presented both the preliminary research material and these 7 developed exploratory and provocative design proposals. They are presented to the public and key stakeholders with the aim of challenging and extending current thinking about our city of Melbourne.




Project Map of The CBD (pdf file)

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EXHIBITED STUDENT PROJECTS:




Flagstaff Gardens Sports Pavilion
Jeanne Guerin + Thomas Fussenegger
RMIT Architecture Upperpool Design Students

Over time Flagstaff Gardens has accumulated a most diverse range of plants, buildings, landscapes and activities, all on a small plot of land in the central city. Our proposal is an intensification of these very unique and dynamic qualities. It deals with the existing problems and the atmospheric elements of the park. By stacking all the dispersed or missing amenities and activities in a single, transparent building, the park will regain a focal point. Visible from the city and creating a dialogue between visitors and the park itself, the sports pavilion could become a beloved meeting place in the heart of Melbourne, like the Flagstaff and the signal station were in the 1840s.

Flagstaff Gardens is – and can be – much more than what is currently proposed for its future development. It is the park’s dynamic spirit and its ability to bring the most heterogeneous elements together on this small site: palm trees and the local, old wattle trees, sharp declines and smooth valleys, office workers having BBQs and people doing Tai Chi in the early morning hours go hand in hand. A short walk through Flagstaff Gardens can be more refreshing and inspiring than a whole day in Royal Park!

The major problem of the park is that its facilities, especially the tennis and netball courts, are rather difficult to use or not accessible to the public. Changing rooms do not exist, the public toilets are poorly located, and the necessity to always reconfigure the courts to accommodate different games calls for a solution.

Our proposed building would arise at the site of the existing multi-purpose courts; therefore it would not take up any more space of the park.

The sports pavilion would provide a kiosk, changing rooms and a multi-purpose court with surrounding seating on ground floor and stacked sport courts as well as a tree-top bar above. A circulation space leads through the whole building, where people will be able to experience all the games played and the surrounding park from different perspectives.

The lightweight structure is encased by different types of meshes and netting materials. That is ideal for a building within a park because it plays with the atmospheric elements of the surrounding trees.

All of the courts are covered, outdoor spaces - one will get the feeling of playing within the trees. At the same time, the pavilion will turn into a show case for the city, by exhibiting all the different sports people are playing in Melbourne. Especially at night, the building will turn into a illuminated cage of activity, the local people themselves will convey the building’s identity.

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Flinders Street Perimeter
Sophia Burgess, Thomas Fussenegger + Sam Perversi-Brooks
RMIT Architecture Upperpool Design Students

Our project is about connections; connections between the City and the River, Sport and the branding image of Melbourne internationally, Homeless Youth and programs to re-engage them with society.

Architecturally we have interpreted these ideas into two main buildings located on either side of the Flinders Street Railway tracks. Public ramps are proposed between the Northbank of the Yarra and Flinders Street, which form a physical and symbolic bridge between the two buildings, promoting joint participation between the homeless and the general public in the sporting and cultural activities available along the Northbank and within the perimeter building. Large scale protruding windows visually frame various activities aimed at creating an active engagement with the building, the river and the city.

Within the layout of Melbourne’s grid, the Flinders Street Perimeter Building fits into a precinct of iconic Melbourne landmarks: Federation Square, the existing Flinders Street Station, and the network of infrastructure bound by the Yarra River. Linking the CBD to the river at this key point would allow a rejuvenation of the Flinders Street quarter and Vaults area by increasing pedestrian traffic to the Northbank precinct and facilitating movement across from Southbank to the new proposal.

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Melbourne Vacancy Exchange
Karim Chami, Lim Teck Vee + Barend Meyer
RMIT Architecture Upperpool Design Students
Winning Exhibited Project
Judges: Committee for Melbourne, Future Focus Group
Melbourne Vacancy Exchange mockup website:
http://mve.bensonho.com/home.php

The studio's field research suggested that some of the most interesting and alluring parts of the city are instances where marginal or typically unused spaces are appropriated in unexpected ways. Well known examples include Curtain House's Rooftop Cinema and Section 8 Container Bar. We have tried to consider how this kind of adaptive occupation, constituting an informal dual economy which is peripheral but culturally important, could be encouraged and facilitated.

To this end, our proposal is for a website called the Melbourne Vacancy Exchange. Here one could search for and register marginal or underused spaces that fall outside the normal regimes of the property market. We've identified various categories of marginal space; servant spaces such as stairwells and foyers, car parks which are used cyclically, retail lease gaps where a space is only briefly available, vacant lots, redevelopment sites, and derelict buildings. The website search engine functions like existing real estate websites in enabling a very particular space to be paired-up with a uniquely suitable cultural or recreational user.

We imagine the vacancy exchange would have a wide and varied effect on the city, facilitating many different users and outcomes and contributing to the diversity and spontaneity of the public realm.

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Docklands Esplanade Collage
Ilana Freadman + Scott Crowe
RMIT Architecture Upperpool Design Students

The Esplanade Collage (master plan) aims to facilitate the current and future development of the Melbourne Docklands, creating engaging public spaces and programs for the resident, the visitor, and the neighbouring worker. The Harbour Esplanade lies in the heart of the Docklands and is the only thoroughfare for pedestrian, vehicular, and public transport between New Quay and Victoria Harbour, the CBD and Central Pier.

Currently the site, 100 metres by 500 metres, is a vast barren landscape. The Esplanade lacks any program and its function as a negotiable promenade is awkward. Our vision for this site is; to define spaces with specific programs, to promote a connection to the water’s edge from the CBD, to create useable public space along the water’s edge and for the user to experience framed views of the Harbour.

We wish to ensure that the spaces remain within the public domain. The method for master planning the expanse was to assess and implement desired common civic spaces and combine them with specific public programs in addition to ancillary building volumes as amenities. In use is: the courtyard, the main square, the formal walkway, the organized and recreational sporting arena, and the park. Allowable building volumes act as amenities to the adjacent programs. Specific functions such as the swimming pool were implemented as activated ground planes to allow selected views across site.

To emphasise the connection between city and water’s edge, a banding technique was employed. The dimension of which is determined by the minimum requirements for their function (i.e. the width of a basketball court). The bands of programs also allow an increased combination of neighbouring programs and create diversity adjacent to the water’s edge. The placement of these bands determined what neighboured what and also the site specific conditions of the Esplanade. After the banding programs were located, various transport modes were inserted according to vistas.

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57 Bourke Street - Laneway Sliver
Laura Bright-Davies + Ricky Booth
RMIT Architecture Upperpool Design Students

This project is located between 53-59 Bourke Street (in McIlwraith Place laneway) and aims to plug into the existing King’s Parkade while providing a more interactive link from the car park to Bourke Street.

The current design of the Parkade with its unusual openings, voids and geometry lends itself well to such an addition simply plugging in and filling the gaps. And the site has the potential to offer much more than simply a covered walkway. Also, if the top two disused stories of the car park were to be re-opened as the offices which originally existed, this new proposal could provide a much more inviting entrance from Bourke Street.

We have proposed a new building which links into the existing car park openings, filling the void between these openings and the lift core on the other side of the lane. This would allow levels 1-5 new to access the lift.

The form then wraps around and runs alongside the neighbouring wall towards Bourke Street. Enclosed within this form is a continuous staircase winds down the entire length of the building, terminating at Bourke Street. This allows users the option to take the lift or the more interactive and exciting staircase journey from their cars to work each morning.

Programme within the building could include activities and functions to service the car park users as they make their way through the building, as well as having additional functions to draw people in. At ground level, a variety of programmes are embedded into a 900mm wide strip of the thoroughfare such as pay machines, vending machines, photo processing machines, glass display boxes and public seating. On each of the upper levels, we have provided basic amenities and outlined the rentable floor area. The potential occupancy of each level is available for a variety of possible programmes such as: gallery space, informal public lecture space, yoga studio, various retail initiatives, café, public and private offices/studios.

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COMMITTEE FOR MELBOURNE - M: URBAN PROJECT

Committee for Melbourne - Home

Future Focus Group team members
Sharyn McNeill, Allens Arthur Robinson
Ben Shaw, John Wertheimer & Company
Jo Willoughby, Product & Operations (A division of Australia Post)
Jeanette Fyffe, The University of Melbourne
Roy Weitzman, Corrs Chambers Westgarth
Mandi Zonneveldt, The Herald & Weekly Times
Jen Aughterson, The Robin Boyd Foundation


ARTICLE
"M: Urban Exhibition Launch"
Committee for Melbourne - Future Focus Group


PUBLIC ADDRESS:
Sharyn McNeill, Allens Arthur Robinson
Committee for Melbourne - Future Focus Group
Government House
June 2007

"'Community spaces from redundant places.' This was the original catch-cry of this project and underpins its focus.

The members of M:URBAN were drawn together by a desire to transform various underutilised 'black holes' around the City of Melbourne into lively and creative community spaces.  Through our collaboration with RMIT's Urban Architecture Laboratory, an official learning program was developed for this year's first semester, which has seen RMIT's senior architecture students work towards bringing this transformation to fruition.

As part of their curriculum, these students have identified over 180 spaces around Melbourne that are currently redundant or underutilised.  The students have used these spaces as blank canvas to create innovative urban designs that could be implemented in order to increase their accessibility to Melbourne's community and further improve Melbourne's 'liveability'.

M:URBAN and RMIT have worked together to create a shortlist of 30 design ideas.  This shortlist will be provided to the Melbourne City Council and our aim is for it to form the blueprint of a register of places in need of updating.  As a short term goal, however, this work will culminate in a public exhibition to be launched next Thursday 28 June.  The exhibition will run for two weeks in the link bridge connecting Melbourne Central and Myer, with the aim of promoting public debate and involvement in urban design relevant for building Melbourne's community spaces.
Thanks to the Herald-Sun, media exposure for the exhibition, both in print and on-line, will commence shortly.

John Denton, Victorian State Architect, will be the key note speaker at the exhibition launch on Thursday and will judge one of the students' designs as being the most innovative and worthy of the cash prize sponsored by Australia Post.  There will also be a public vote element at the exhibition, encouraging input from the broader Melbourne community regarding the use of our city.  So, we encourage you all to visit the exhibition at some stage and register your vote.

Following the exhibition, we will continue to liaise with the project's key stakeholders, with a view to firstly seeking agreement for the implementation of at least one design idea, whether of a temporary or long term nature, and secondly to develop a long term life for the project to ensure that the liveability and innovation in Melbourne's public spaces can continue with the next generation of architects and urban designers.

We are very excited to be a part of this project and hope you take the opportunity to participate via our exhibition next week."

M: URBAN
project syndicate description

Question 2: The Committee’s only stipulation about Future Focus Group projects is that they must deliver a tangible, positive benefit to Melbourne. Tell us about the M:Urban project and the benefits you think it will deliver to Melbourne. 

M:Urban: The project aims to encourage innovative urban design ideas for Melbourne’s CBD and to bring those ideas to the people who have the power to act on them. M:Urban will have tangible benefits for Melbourne: It has the potential to result in a number of high-profile projects, it brings students together with powerful stakeholders in a positive learning environment, and it will involve the broader community in a discussion of urban design.

Question 3: Future Focus Group participants often say that the best things about the Future Focus Group are meeting people from other sectors and participating in projects outside normal personal and professional spheres of reference. What inspired you to work together and develop this project idea?

M:Urban: We all had an interest in urban design and in seeing a real outcome from our project. We initially chose two sites in Melbourne which we thought something should be done with and had setbacks when we found plans were already afoot with those. But we have a real affinity as a team and decided to push on regardless and reinvent ourselves. Knowing that there are sites in Melbourne that could benefit from new thinking, particularly in relation to design and activity use, provided our group with really strong reasons to continue, develop and enhance our project.

Question 4: The first step in the Future Focus Group project process is ‘wallowing in primary data’ and conducting a thorough situation analysis. Have you found anything like M:Urban locally or overseas and if so, how will M:Urban be different to what already exists? 

M:Urban: M:Urban is all about Melbourne. There are likely to be similar concepts overseas but the outcomes will apply specifically to our city, and therefore will be unique.  

Question 5: It’s a fact that not every Future Focus Group project gets off the ground, at least within the two years of the program. If you could ask for one thing to guarantee this project’s success, what would it be? 

M:Urban: Open minds among the stakeholders we engage once the students have selected the sites they will proceed with. We will be hosting an exhibition to bring their ideas to the people of Melbourne but we would like to see at least one of those ideas taken up. In the future (ok, that's two things!), having someone to support the project and undertake this exercise regularly. Having young designers think about our city can only be of benefit.

Question 6: In three words, describe the Future Focus Group program.

M:Urban: Challenging but worthwhile.

 

The Future Focus Group, an initiative of the Committee for Melbourne, is in its 12th year and is centred around the Committee’s objective of encouraging a competitive and innovative business culture in the city. For more information on M:Urban and the Future Focus Group, please contact the Manager of the Future Focus Group Program, Ms. Danielle Johnston on 03 9650 8800 or djohnston@melbourne.org.au.

NEWS:
Tattersall’s Award (to M:Urban) for Innovation seed funding announced this month
Committee for Melbourne
5-06-07

The announcement of the Tattersall’s Award for Innovation has come at the right time for Future Focus Group project syndicate M:Urban, which launches its exhibition at Melbourne Central later this month.

The aim of the M:Urban project is to encourage innovative urban design ideas for Melbourne’s central business district and to bring those ideas to the people who have the power to act on them.

Public Affairs Manager of Tattersall’s Mr. Peter Franich said two factors - taking the idea to the next level and embracing it in partnership with RMIT University and the central business district - were important factors in deciding to award the prize to M:Urban.

“The project team made me realise that a lot can be achieved without it being a financial burden,” Mr. Franich said

“M:Urban has the potential to deliver positives which means that all parties can proudly take ownership, with benefits far outweighing the effort. It also embraces the idea of how some of the best future brains of the city can be encouraged and inspired, refined and progressed,” he said.

Pathway to achievements not all smooth running

M:Urban team member and the Business/Resource Reporter for the Herald Sun, Ms. Mandi Zonneveldt said the M:Urban team was really excited to be awarded the Tattersall's Award for Innovation.

“This time last year we had hit dead-ends on two project ideas and were struggling for direction,” Ms. Zonneveldt said.

M:Urban overcame these early setbacks to become the only project syndicate to receive the second and final Tattersall’s Award for Innovation in the current program.

M:Urban launches on June 28

M:Urban has set the foundations for the launch later this month and chose to direct the funding towards this milestone.

“The seed funding will help us launch our exhibition on the Link Bridge, above Lonsdale Street, at Melbourne Central on June 28 and, in particular, help with the printing of catalogues,” Ms Zonneveldt said.

The M:Urban exhibition will open on Thursday June 28 with an invitation-only launch party and continue for two weeks until 11 July. Victorian Government architect Mr. John Denton will make the keynote speech at the opening, which will be MC’ed by the M:Urban team member and National Manager, Product & Operations - A division of Australia Post, Ms. Jo Willoughby.

Syndicate drafts up future plans

“We have lots of ideas for carrying this project forward beyond the exhibition and hope that the body of work contributed by the students will be the beginning of something lasting for Melbourne,” Ms. Zonneveldt said.  

Mr. Franich adds, “Melbourne will be better for this project, particularly if it becomes a regular/semi-regular event. One or two of the ideas put forward only need to be implemented in part or full every few years for this to be an outstanding success”.



Related links:

Committee for Melbourne:

Future Focus Group Projects

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MEDIA

Northbank plan inspires readers
Ian Royall, City editor
Herald Sun Online
July 20, 2007

M:URBAN People's Choice Competition
Herald Sun Online
June 28, 2007

1. Project 1 57 Bourke St
2. Docklands Esplanade Collage
3. Federation Square Promenade
4. Flagstaff Gardens Sports Pavilion
5. Flinders Street Perimeter
6. Melbourne Vacancy Exchange
7. Docklands Urban Beach
Herald Sun Online - Gallery
June 28, 2007

"Students plunge into city design"
Ian Royall, City editor
Herald Sun Online
June 28, 2007

"Modifying Melbourne"
Ian Royall, City editor
Herald Sun Online
June 27, 2007

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CREATIVE SPACES WEBSITE PROJECT:




CREATIVE SPACES
affordable and accessible creative project spaces website and database
www.creativespaces.net.au

Partners:
Arts Victoria / City of Melbourne
with
RMIT Design Research Institute
RMIT Urban Architecture Laboratory
Commitee for Melbourne - Future Focus Group


CREATIVE SPACES WEBSITE LAUNCH:

The launch of the CREATIVE SPACES website is to be held at one of Melbourne's newest studio spaces, the BOYD SCHOOL STUDIOS.

TIME:
Friday 20 February 2009, 6-8 pm

VENUE:
BOYD SCHOOL STUDIOS, 207-229 City Rd Southbank (enter via Balston Street)

LAUNCH SPONSORS:
Commitee for Melbourne Future Focus Group


CREATIVE SPACES is a digital resource solely committed to providing information on affordable and accessible spaces for creative projects across Melbourne and Victoria. It also provides access to vacant or under-utilised buildings through its Vacant Buidings Register. BOYD SCHOOLS STUDIO is the first project to made available to artists using the CREATIVE SPACES website.

CREATIVE SPACES is a join venture initiative of the City of Melbourne and Arts Victoria in partnership with the RMIT Design Research Institute and the Committee for Melbourne Future Focus Group.

Website Designers:
StudioRacket


HISTORY OF THE PROJECT

An initial version of the CREATIVE SPACES website was set up by the City of Melbourne to address the critical need for artist studio and event spaces in the Melbourne CBD and then expanded with the financial support of Arts Victoria to include spaces across Victoria.

In 2007, RMIT Architecture and the Committee for Melbourne’s Future Focus Group combined forces to develop the M: URBAN - MODIFYING THE CITY Design Studio Ideas Competition and Exhibition.

The winning proposal MELBOURNE VACANCY EXCHANGE by RMIT Architecture students Barend Meyer, Karim Chami, Lim Teck Vee, envisaged a website that allowed access to underutilised or vacant properties around Melbourne. This concept has been incorporated into the relaunched CREATIVE SPACES website.

In 2008, RMIT Design Research Institute - Urban Liveability funded RMIT Architecture student Barend Meyer to research the new website’s infrastructure and develop case studies. This website infrastructure was custom built by Studio Racket.


RMIT Design Research Institute - Urban Liveability
Directors: Sue-Anne Ware, Nigel Bertram

CREATIVE SPACES DRI Researcher:
Barend Meyer, RMIT Architecture Student, funded by RMIT Design Research Institute - Urban Liveability


CREATIVE SPACES Website Launch Invitation:




Contact:
Eleni Arbus, Creative Spaces Project Manager
Arts House: Meat Market
5 Blackwood St
North Melbourne 3051
P: +61 3 9329 2271
E: eleni.arbus@melbourne.vic.gov.au

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Project Coordinator:
Nigel Bertram
Director, RMIT Architecture - Urban Architecture Laboratory
Co-Director, RMIT Design Research Institute - Urban Environments
nigel.bertram@rmit.edu.au