Jessica Richardson Graduate Portfolio

jessica richardson folio.

jessica richardson.

21.02.1999 | 0487245163 | richardsonj2199@gmail.com

Currently based in Naarm (Melbourne), I am a recent architectural graduate from the University of Melbourne with First Class Honours. Over the years, I have furthered my interest in global heritage, as well as the nuanced subtleties of everyday heritage. My works, both written and designed, have thematically explored and critiqued identity, community, and political landscapes within architecture.

I aspire to approach every project through an interdisciplinary lens, continuously drawing inspiration beyond architectural precedents As such, strong research and critical thinking have been influential in translating my ideas into meaningful architecture. I hope to continue to develop a professional work ethic that is sensitive to people, nature and our existing built environments.

[selected works]

remembering palestine

final design thesis | 2022

the haus of marsha

a drag museum and discothéque | 2021

a creative village for iwagishima

rural revitalisation project | 2021

a détournement of melbourne

a reflection on cultural identity and otherness | 2021

pg. no

education

2020 - 2022 | Masters of Architecture, University of Melbourne (with First Class Honours)

2017 - 2020 | Bachelor of Architecture and Specialisation in Design Histories, University of Melbourne

employment + experience

2023 | University of Melbourne

assisting Nancy Ji with Masters of Architecture

Studio graphics for lectures and posters

2022 | LucyArchitecture graduate architect. schedules. revit modelling. measure-ups. drafting.

2020 - current | Ora Speciality Coffee supervisor. fast-paced team environment. strong communication and initiative. able to perform under pressure.

2020 | Rethinking the Future Internship architecture journalist. published sixteen articles. consistently met weekly writing deadlines. proposed my own article ideas and sourced relative media.

personal projects

2019 | French country garden design

2019 - 2020 | “Chinatown: Representing a People’s History”, a critical essay

awards + exhibitions

2018 - 2022 | Works selected for MSDx Exhibition

2021 | Project displayed at local exhibition in Iwagishima, Japan

2019 | Finalist in The Dulux Colour Awards

selected publications

2020 | “How Do Social Ethics Affect Sustainability At An Urban Level?”

2020 | “The Socio-Cultural Impact of The Notre-Dame on Paris - Before and After”

2020 | “Dark Tourism: A Reminder for Humanity”

2020 | “How Famous Architects Use Colour in Architecture”

2020 | “15 Culturally Symbolic Structures Around the World”

2020 | “The Political Truth About Architecture” software skills: CAD: Rhino, Revit

Graphics: Photoshop, Illustrator, Indesign, hand-drawing

Physical modelling: Makerbot, lasercut fabrication

Photogrammetry: Agisoft Metashape

remembering palestine

final design thesis | 2022

In a context of controlled narratives, social erasure and silence, this thesis seeks to explore the Palestininan ideology of ‘samud’ (which generally translates to Palestinian identity and heritage. It asks how can the design, occupation and inhabitation of space affirm a people’s right to place and cultural identity? ‘steadfastness’) as a means of reclamation and preservation of

Top: Open Shuhada Street Demonstration. Photo. ActiveStills. Middle: Israeli demolition on Palestinian land. Photo. Ihab Alami. Bottom: Open Shuhada Street Demonstration. Photo. Marion Lecoquierre.

MEDITERRANEAN SEA

Map of ‘Israel’. Drawing. Jessica Richardson. The map of Palestine has been redrawn countless times. Arabic place names have been made Hebrew, and boundary lines have been shifted. What once was Palestine is no more.

Checkpoints

Barriers

Watchpoints

Map of Hebron. Drawing. Jessica Richardson. The Old City of Hebron (H2), which is occupied under Israeli military control was the site of contention for this thesis. Here, the highly regulated and militarised H2 zones are made visible.

THE NEW CITY (H1)

THE OLD CITY (H2)

First emerging after the Six-Day War in 1967, samud has evolved into one of the most central values in modern Palestinian identity. As a practice of peaceful resistance, samud is a means in which to affirm one’s right to place, both individually and collectively.

In order to architecturally translate samud, this thesis investigates the intangible relationships woven between and around an individual and place, and their importance within a context of politicised place-making. The designed spaces are intended to encourage Palestinian agency where they can choose to narrate, preserve, and continue their own cultural heritage. Furthermore, ethnographic fieldwork and analysis suggests that

urban regeneration positions itself in direct counterpoint to the Israeli “colonial project of dismemberment”.

Within this project, material expressions of cultural and domestic everydayness transpose the microhistories of Palestinian displacement. Through the revitalisation and subversion of existing structures, this proposal for a new Shuhada Street interrogates and reappropriates the street. In doing so, this project seeks to empower and actively remember a people’s identity that is explicitly at risk of invisibilisation.

the street’s reactivation becomes a protest against restricted Palestinian movement.

the museum typology was explored and critiqued as a means in which colonial meta-narratives are perpetually legitimated throughout history. the museum’s entrance is intentionally guided through the humble and traditional hosh, as opposed to a grand, institutional entrance.

the hosh (translating to protection) is traditionally a semiprivate courtyard. this urban space is deeply characteristic of Palestinian cities. here, it serves as a mediatory space between the museum and the kitchen.

Palestinian lands present a distinct terraced, garden typology. when read within the context of Israeli afforestation practices, this garden may be read as a poignant act of Palestinian agency.

the concept of a community kitchen was inspired by a number of Vivien Sansour’s projects, including the Palestinian Heirlom Library, the Travelling Kitchen, and HOME. through such ideas, the importance of remembering as both archival and active becomes apparent.

the workshop is imagined as a space of advocacy and agency for Palestinians in their own rebuilding of place and identity. the pottery workshop intends to reclaim the ancient manufacturing tradition as a means in which to pass down Palestinian heritage outside of a generational lineage.

the public living room draws inspiration from traditional Palestinian hospitality. the room’s connection to the local kitchen represents an urban domesticity of sorts.

the liwan is a traditional Palestinian entrance hall for the home. it is used here to mediate between the workshop and the street, lending itself for conversation, rest and tea.

This section illustrates the transition between the kitchen and living room.

Intentional openings are used to mediate between both spaces. The low window from the kitchen enables delicius smells to waft through to the living room, accompanied by a scene of working hands preparing the food. On the other side, the sheer curtain offers soft glimpses into the living room.

In Palestinian culture, the living room is always ready to host unexpected guests. Here, the connection to the kitchen explores notions of ‘guest’ and ‘host’. As a result of Palestinian displacement, the right to be a host has slowly disintegrated. Instead, Palestinians have been forced into the role of ‘guest’, even within their own homeland.

A-A, The Space Between. Detail Section. Jessica Richardson.

To this day, the majority of Palestinians do not have access to traditional archives, and therefore to their own history. Thus, this archive seeks to reinforce the sanctity of people’s everyday possessions.

The curved archive wall re-uses the existing masonry of the school.

The displays are framed through the openings which reference the rhythm of the existing windows.

The archival objects speak to a narrative of everyday ephemera that is evocative of human stories and memories.

Although this project grounds itself in traditional heritage methodologies, it is also decisively inspired by progessive Palestinian architecture firms such as AAU ANASTAS. Furthermore, when read within an urban context of blockades and military checkpoints, this wall is imagined in direct counterpoint to the deliberate destructuring and fragmentation of intimate generational knowledge.

Extending below the garden, the archive wall gestures to the rootedness of Palestinian culture to the land. Here, the archive is protected and secure as it safeguards documents and artefacts of cultural importance to the City of Hebron, and Palestine.

B-B, Archive Wall . Detail Section. Jessica Richardson.

the

a drag museum and discothéque | 2021

haus of marsha

This project emerges out of the provocation “what does it mean to be human?”. Here, identity became the lens in which to explore the act of human embodiment. The Haus of Marsha reimagines notions of temporality, theatre, exhibition and inhibition. Visitors and users move through framed moments like temporary artworks. Through a combined program of two juxtaposing typologies, a museum and a discothéque, classical spaces and forms culminate into a theatrical stage for bold and unapologetically joyous self-expression.

Performers at Studio

Annotated photo research. Jessica Richardson. Studio 54 offered a captivating example of extravagant ecstasy where quite literally anything and everything was possible. In particular, the contradictory tension between recognition and anonymity proved to be an intriguing provocation for this project.

Dancefloor of Studio 54.

Photo. Adam Scull.

Man covered in gold paint.

Photo. Ron Gallela.

balcony of Studio 54. Photo. Russell Turiak.

54. Photo. Allan Tannenbaum.

Dancer at Studio 54. Photo. N/A.

Diano Ross at Studio 54.

Photo. N/A.

Spatial iterations. (Above) Oil pastel and charcoal; (Below) Pen on tracing paper. Jessica Richardson. These quick form and program iterations were insightful starting points. The use of different mediums encouraged a conceptual and more abstract approach to atmosphere, whilst the trace was intended as a detailed overlay on the colourful pastel blurs.

01

04

Ground Floor. Plan. Jessica Richardson. This ground floor plan highlights the programmatic juxtaposition between the museum and discothéque. However, through deliberate architectural gestures such as staircases, various level changes and framed windows, these spaces remain purposefully interconnected.

the exhibits

01. out of the closet, onto the streets: the history of drag 02. opulence,opulence, opulence!: wigs & costumes 03: queer artists

exhibit

detail

exhibit 01

exhibit 02

Opulence, Ecstasy and Tea. Collage. Jessica Richardson.

Within a contemporary context, the bathroom remains a highly contentious and controversial space. In particular, the Queen’s Tea Room and Lavatories lends itself as an example of what democratising exclusivity might look like in the 21st century. Such interrogation has produced a specifically social - as opposed to specifically gendered- space.

Detail 01, The Queens’ Tea Room and Lavatories. Plan Detail. Jessica Richardson.

1. light reflections in the mirrored vestibule before entrance

2. queens washing their hands in the pink stone quartz basin of beauty

3. art panels exhibited within the lavatory itself

4. continued theatrics along the grand staircase

5. the tea room

Section B-B. Section. Jessica Richardson.

Each drawing within this project was conceived as a campy pastiche and deliberately reinterprets classical canons within art and architecture.

the haus of marsha | a drag museum and discothéque

Section A-A. Section. Jessica Richardson. The architectural forms are intentionally somewhat stage-like. The exhibitionist platforms and dramatic archways frame temporary moments that immediately become a part of an exciting performance.

creative village for iwagishima

rural revitalisation project | 2021

This rural revitalisation project proposes a ‘creative village’ in Iwagishima of Kamijima Town. This small island holds a population of just over two thousand. Following extensive research, there was found to be an opprtunity to attract a new class of migrants that could contribute to different collective knowledges. In particular, a more purposeful engagement with art and artistic production was clearly lacking on the island. However, the spaces and programs within this project intentionally move away from the ‘art island’ prototype to instead promote a self-sufficient longevity.

造船所の風景 Shipyard

大森神社 Omori Shrine

岩城島 Iwagijima

積善山展望台 Sekizenyama Observatory

祥雲寺 Shounji Temple

関前山 Mt. Sekizen 高原桜公園 Kogensakura Park

岩城観光センター Iwagi Tourist Center

津波島 Tsubajima

Sound Hamada Campground

立石メンヒル Tateishi Menhir

生名島 Ikinajima

弓削島 Yugejima

生名橋記念公園 Ikinabashi Memorial Park 弓削神社 Yuge Shrine

西方寺 Saiho-ji Temple

佐島 Sashima

久司山展望台 Kushiyama Observatory

豊島 Toyoshima

55 110 165 220

Uoshima (166)

Takaikamijima (18) Sashima (486)

Toyoshima (0)

Tsubajima (166)

Yugejima (2690)

Iwagijima (2044)

Ikinajima (1542)

Population Density Island (Population)

Iwagishima Context. Drawing. Jessica Richardson. This drawing combines two different mappings of Iwagshima’s context. The island was found to exist within a well-established agricultural, specifically citrus, and shipbuilding industry. With this in mind, it was critical to develop a project that could contribute new experiences to the island.

高井神島 Takaikamijima

Ishizuchi Shrine

This project’s proposal for a ‘creative village’ seeks to establish ‘the artist’ as a lifestyle rather than solely as a seasonal preoccupation. As a result, this village can be seen as a transition point for trial migration creatives.

There is currently no artist-inresidency programs on Iwagishima, or even more broadly within the Ehime Prefecture. Most existing residencies are located in comparatively more urban areas. This provided a strong foundation to implement such a program.

The proposed village is located just to the south of Kogensakura park on Mt. Sekizen. The existing site for the village was found as abandoned agricultural land with stunning views across to the bay. Here, migrant creatives would encounter a unique experience in which they could simultaneously immerse themselves within nature and local island life.

The new Mt. Sekizen market to the north reiterates the idea of community togetherness. The market’s connection to the creative village pressents strong potential for re-activation.

A Creative Village for Iwagishima. Narrative Drawing. Jessica Richardson

spatial relationship

conceptual planning

Programmatic Bubble Diagram. Sketch. Jessica Richardson.

Conceptual Plan 1. Sketch. Jessica Richardson.

Conceptual Plan 2. Sketch. Jessica Richardson.

An Initial Iteration of Creative Village. Sketch. Nicolas Reyes.

An Initial Iteration of Creative Village with Annotations. Sketch. Nicolas Reyes. Markup by Jessica Richardson.

Developed Iteration of Creative Village. Sketch. Nicolas Reyes.

exhibit. shared residences. community kitchen.

The studios are located to the north. Here, at the highest point of the site, they offer breathtaking views to the ocean.

Ground Floor. Plan. Jessica Richardson.

Detail 01, Flexible spaces (Top). Plan. Jessica Richardson. The idea of spatial flexibility was critical to promote programmatic longevity. In particular, the engawa transitions to an ‘in-between’ space between the residences and kitchen. Although both spaces were approached through their domestic familiarity, the openable partitions invite a number of opportunities for more formal uses of the spaces, such as events and classes.

Section A-A (Bottom). Section. Jessica Richardson. After careful consideration of the existing terrain, a simple lightweight columnand-beam construction was used to follow the natural landscape.

a détournement of melbourne

a reflection on cultural identity and otherness | 2021

The following collage series thematically interrogates the city and our identity, particularly within a place of image-making. Through specific depictions of ‘otherness’, it becomes clear how cultural identies are selectively made invisible within a ‘spectacular’ urban landscape. That is, our cityscape presents an explicit spatialisation of convenient consumption. These collages invite a momentary pause for close inspection. As such, subconcious and unquestioned assumptions are no longer filtered through the passive gaze.

A City of Two. Collage. Jessica Richardson. Although Melbourne’s colonial past remains irrefutably complex, the city has clearly adopted its European heritage to become representative and iconic of the city. To visit the city, as directed by The City of Melbourne, would be to ignore both the broader and micro histories of Indigenous dispossession and disconnection to the land.

assumptions around Australian identity.

Real Australians. Collage. Jessica Richardson. This collage was inspired by Peter Drew’s ‘AUSSIE’ poster series, a project which offered a visual critique of subconscious

Gateways and Lanterns. Collage. Jessica Richardson. Today, Melbourne’s Chinatown perpetuates a European aestheticisation and racialisation of ‘chineseness’. Through a critique of why such enclaves exist, this collage makes visible a part of history that has been reduced to stereotypes and iconic imagery.