Slow Recovery

This studio was a “sequel” to the Rethinking Regional Recovery (RRR) studio and intentionally transitioned from the theoretical and speculative nature of RRR’s outcomes, into a highly practice-based mode. The question of how we might deepen our understanding of what we design and build through interdisciplinarity and local cultural knowledge continued to underpin our thinking. However this time we had a privileged opportunity to activate many of the learnings from RRR in real space and time with diverse bushfire affected people with differing perspectives on what recovery means to them.

While the focus of this studio was around the ‘co-creation’ and design of projects that are not technically “re-construction” works—buildings or spaces that were destroyed by the fires—the social contexts of the places and relevant sites are ones of deep psychosocial, economic and environmental rehabilitation, hence were perceived within the scope of the studio and by our partners, as long term recovery projects.

The studio delivered design concepts and co-created design briefs for each involved community group to leverage for further action and funding opportunities. In the case of the amphitheater for GLaWAC, this studio ignited a dynamic process of continued co-creation and design with/by us, garnering further funding sufficient to complete full design and documentation of this place of immense cultural significance and expression. See Wangun Amphitheatre for the finished result!