POWER HOUSE MUSEUM RENEWAL

According to National Health Survey, 20% of Australians suffer from mental or behavioural disorders[ Australian Bureau of Statistics, National Health Survey: First results. (ABS, 2017-2018).. Not just abandoning people by their abilities, but society always have possessed an ableist attitude towards ‘weak’ or ‘minor’ people. The history of human development always shows brutal exploitation and aggression of each other’s. Australia history well shows this brutalism as the aboriginals experienced invasion and colonisation, includes massacre in 1788. The aboriginal’s loss of their families, language, culture, and their land are continuing even now.

Then, why human obsessed in equality now. The development in information and communications technology, various social medias expanded social networks throughout the world. We learn how to accept everyone with the idea of where we are all different. Regardless of one’s diversity, respect in one’s values, beliefs, cultures are mandatory.

This idea of accepting others regardless of one’s diversity and brings everyone into the building in peace and respect is the main goal of “Dulili” project. The creative workplace social condenser, located in the middle of Harris Street is the network core of Sydney Ultimo. The land uses are divided into four directions (educational, residential, commercial and nature). In between one’s journey, social condenser, “Dulili” aims to make a community centre where the visitors of Sydney city use as a terminal or shelter.

The building raises up the issue towards inequality of one’s gender, race, ability, or religion through the exhibition program. After the visitors enjoyed the exhibition, the building forces them to use a one main circulation in the middle of the building. This forces people to come together and interact and finally leads them to communicate.

“Dulili” also interacts with two design strategies, salutogenic and biophilic practices where can provides opportunities of health promotion and positive feelings to many individuals. We believe that the building, “Dulili” has the power to affect social behaviours of individuals and functions for everyone’s comfort, security, and humanist values.The building also interacts with heritage. It is located on the land of the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, which contains two heritagelisted buildings: ‘Ultimo powerhouse’ (1899-1905) and the ‘Former Ultimo Post Office’ (c.1901). This heritage defines where we are through showing the past Sydney. Juan Walker,Walk about Cultural Adventures, stated; “Australia is not just a beautiful place to us. It is everything. It holds out stories, our religion, our customs, and our ancestors.”

The real equality occurs from acknowledging the past Australia. We need to know what was wrong and what is right now. “Dulili” displays key existing building materials, ‘bricks’ to provide ceaseless flow of time from the past to the future. Moreover, “Dulili” has a lot of native Australin vegetation spreaded out, to express the concept of kinship which takes the responsibilities towards other people, the land and natural resources. Architecture as a discipline of human and spatial communication, even if we can not have a disruptive impact on society, through this project we hope to convey our thoughts on the relationship between equality and social communication and opens to anyone & everyone in present but also, the past and future.