PLAN b; Urb-infill, Thom McCarthy
“I believe it is essential for people to feel good about using and connecting with a space and that is what makes a design successful” says Swinburne Interior Design student, Angel Tsang. Angel, along with other graduate students participated in PLAN b, Swinburne’s Interior Design graduate show 24-27th November.
Large banners suspended from the ceiling in the PA Gallery at Swinburne University presented two projects per student. All projects were commercial, with a defined industry end use from childcare centres to retail space and urban residential buildings.
Thom McCarthy’s Urb-infill questions “How can residential design maximise space in urban areas?” Thom has created a “residential dwelling on a site in the inner urban region of Melbourne, and uses a small, existing plot of land to create a minimal family home.” This project incorporates a communal roof-top garden and the considered design will hopefully encourage young families to remain within the urban areas of the city.
Thom’s second project, Park Pavillion, reviews the use of Melbourne’s Albert Park by people of all ages and backgrounds and creates a covered pavilion space where people can seek refuge from extreme weather conditions and also caters for people who use Albert Park running track with up-graded stretching equipment.
Urb-infill, Thom McCarthy; Sustainable Education and Baddaba, Kierah Richards
Kierah Richards is passionate about design “Because everything to do…how we see, interact, relax is influenced by what someone has designed for us.” Kierah’s projects are socially focused, “My interest lies in how we use space and how space can affect our social behaviour.” The social focus in Kierah’s work can be seen through her project of an ecological sustainable design (ESD) special needs students’ classroom facility at a public school in Mill Park, North Melbourne.
Kierah’s second project, Baddaba, focuses on a Northern Territory Medical Accommodation Centre. Located five minutes from the Royal Darwin Hospital, the proposed unit has been set up for indigenous people, to “house individuals and families requiring medical treatment from rural or remote areas.”
Positive, David Flack
David Flack explains his project, Positive: “My intention of this project was to design a space for HIV positive individuals who need special health care and support from their community to live free from discrimination…The space will offer HIV patients a place to recognise the challenges they will face with the disease and offer education on the importance of maintaining primary care from their initial diagnoses.”
David Flack’s other project Cotton On and On for Australian retailer Cotton On is carried out “to ‘re-position’ Cotton-On-Clothing as a sustainable, and ethically trading clothing retailer that would reach out to all Australians as a well-priced and affordable retailer with sustainable values and practices.” David takes inspiration from Exhibition design and combines this with retail for a unique outcome.
Cotton On and On, David Flack; Kando, Shirley Lokito
Shirley Lokito has made a social stand with Ugandan project Kando. “The purpose of Kando is to design an educational space to accommodate Ugandan children, aged from five to fifteen focusing on six design criteria: Simple to build, affordable, multifunctional, expandable, sustainable, building as a teaching tool.
Marie Talj’s The Wardrobe Exchange is another clever retail project, encouraging consumers to slow down and take their time shopping. The aim of this project is “to indulge the user in a unique and authentic experience that is less about the aspiration to purchase and more about the journey.”
The Wardrobe Exchange, Marie Talj
Mesh by Kayo Fujita is a town planning project in Macedon that aims to address the three issues of: Lack of density, lack of social interaction, bushfire. “The proposed design has based its concept on Machiya housing. Machiya housing is a typology of rows of narrow housing placed next to each other. The system allows individual houses to receive optimum lighting, ventilation, access, and most importantly prevents fire from travelling from one house to another.”
Mesh, Kayo Fujita
Victoria Kartika explores the design of a kindergarten that will act “as a transition zone for children into the real world, a place where they can learn through experiences.” The circular design is original and “less serious, playful and fun.” Colours have been kept light, using green, blue, yellow and pinkish cream, Victoria explains.
Inhabitation Kindergarten, Victoria Kartika
Christine Boos’s project merges South Melbourne and Port Melbourne Surf Life Saving clubs into a more efficient “highly functional, low-to-zero emissions building.”
South Port Life Saving Club, Christine Boos
Naomi Hasebe took a journey in the shoes of a homeless person and came up with the concept Cocoonhouse – a refuge for homeless people, constructed mostly from bamboo and “has a cosy feeling of space. Manipulating the linear space gives the user a feeling of warmth and security…Elevated flooring also protects from rain, flooding and other moisture or rot.”
Cocoonhouse, Naomi Hasebe; Urban Library, Van Le
The purpose of Urban Library is to “to provide the surrounding community a wide range of facilities and services.” Van Le plans to “segregate passive areas from active areas”, meaning that areas for private study are separated from public areas where conferences and exhibitions take place.
So many diverse, commercial projects, created with passion and flair reflect well on the Interior Design course offered at Swinburne. ARTS THREAD is looking forward to seeing many of these students’ names appearing in exciting industry projects in the future.
