Discovering A Genuine Expression Of Australia Within Our Built Environment

Feature Article

Melbourne, VIC, Australia

Words Alice Francis

Tunnerminnerwait and Maulboyheenner dated from 2015 by Marlene Gibson

When considering the contemporary idea of what it means to be Australian, it is somewhat largely known that this country can be understood to embody an intertwining of narrative lines. Broadly speaking, these storylines have been gathered together on a number of different grounds, each illustrating their own unique circumstantial layer while varying from the present day to over 60,000 years ago. Along with Australia’s European colonisation and the ongoing migration of an increasingly globalised world, the integration of an intercultural way of life for all residents of this country is present, whether the individual is consciously aware or not.

Within the aesthetic identity of our Australian architecture and design practices, appropriations from these intercultural customs have been occurring since their respectful arrival. There has been less emphasis, however, on a mindful effort to provide a genuine expression of built form stirred by the culture physically and spiritually embedded within this land, that of Indigenous Australians.

As a nation, we are more multiculturally connected than ever and for the first time in history our cities and towns are significantly more populated than rural areas (i). This is inclusive of Australia’s Indigenous population as well, with 65 percent (360,000 individuals) gaining employment and living lives, materially and socio-economically, like those of other Australians (ii). This information no doubt challenges the assumptions and stereotypes currently shaped around Australia’s Indigenous peoples by both those overseas and here at home.

In light of Australia’s fast growing urban fabric, a mindful awareness for what is exterior to and what is interior to Australian identity should be continuously tackled, as well as an authentic consideration of the politics and processes of Indigenous place making in our settler cities. The landscapes and environmental conditions of Australia have become the material ground on which it is configured and represented (in particular internationally), but whose expressions are key to territorialising identity in the design built environment?