19 October 2009
A team of 20 Monash University architecture students have designed and built an open-air community centre for the fire-ravaged community of Kinglake, providing a much-needed social focus for residents.
The community hub has been built at a temporary village near the town that has been set up for up to 50 families whose homes were destroyed by the Black Saturday bushfires in February.
The second-year students volunteered to build the structure through not-for-profit organisation Emergency Architecture which developed the master plan for the Kinglake project.
The striking multi-purpose community centre includes a performance space, barbeque shelter and seating area, providing residents of the village with a much needed space to discuss the future rebuilding of the town as well as host social occasions and events.
The main building has largely been built with shipping pallets and a variety of donated materials including laminated veneer timber, roof sheeting and a water tank.
Designed with local conditions in mind, the north and west pallet walls provide protection from prevailing winds in the area. The pallets also double as planter boxes to allow residents to decorate the interior.
Over two months of planning and design, the building was pre-fabricated within studio space at the University's Faculty of Art and Design at the Caulfield campus prior to being transported for assembly at Kinglake.
The students then volunteered their time to erect the structure on-site, working 10 to 14 hour days, often in driving rain, over two weeks to get the project completed on time.
Architecture program coordinator Diego Ramirez-Lovering said students benefited greatly from being able to use their skills to help the community.
"Following the success of the Kinglake project, I now hope to take students to Mexico and Southeast Asia to work with non-profit organisations where there is a also dire need for housing," Mr Ramirez-Lovering said.
In only its second year of operation, the University's new architecture school has sought to offer practical experience to students, including an emphasis on the environment and sustainable design.
The Kinglake Community Centre is the school's first large-scale design project.
The project was led by Professor Silvia Acosta and Adrienne Benz from the Rhode Island School of Design in the US, both of whom have extensive experience in disaster-relief housing, and lecturer Ross Brewin from the Monash School of Architecture.
For more information, including interviews and photos, contact Shaunnagh O'Loughlin, Media and Communications, on + 61 3 9903 4843 or 0448 574 148.
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