ARLA1000 Design Studio - Groundings Unit Coordinator: Emily Van Eyk Studio Coordinators: Daniel Jan Martin & Liam Mouritz ‘A Food Landscape’
MARCUS TAN ‘Scaffold’
The Scaffold borrows the spirit of freedom from a campsite lot, a place where the tension between seemingly polar activities is absolved in the created structural medium. It is a loosely defined yet clearly oriented space that provides one simple use; a scaffold for people (and life) to insert themselves on. Consisting of a modular brick system, it is constructed by drawing cues from an amphitheatre, and similarities in campfire and site circulation. The beautiful greenery and blues of the Sunset Heritage Precinct draws out new functional capabilities, which are not traditionally attributed to the amphitheatre. Unconventional activity pairings arise and coalesce together to generate a new mixture of atmosphere and enjoyment, with countless concoctions possible. Fishing and lecturing, kiting and dancing, comedy and stargazing, to name a few. It is a place where the senses are allowed to penetrate through the barriers, where structure is erected in attempt to demarcate not dictate, where the experience is categorised with freedom and fluidity. There is no controlled internal environment, whatever the weather offers is candidly adopted, reflected in the type of inhabitation invited here. The structure also aims to repay the Earth of our costs continually incurred with her inhabitation. Space is provided for the establishment of community gardens, planting and introduction of more local species throughout the site, and ultimately the generation of new ecosystems for life to settle and thrive on such as habitats for marine life. There is also no carbon footprint accumulated with travel if the user barely needs to move their feet to transition seamlessly between activities. Accessible only on foot, a 450m walk along a winding path through Australian flora precedes the encounter, perhaps the perfect setting to draw reflection and attention to our continual impact here.
Image: Surfaces – watercolour. 207
