Wk 15 Presentation

[Image version of the powerpoint slides]

“2019. I’m divorced. I live on my own in an apartment in inner-city Brisbane.  I have worked as an architect for the past 20 years, but another global financial crisis has just hit. I see social disconnection around me...”

An opportunity arises to work as the Sustainable Planning & Building Manager, overseeing the revitalisation of the Woodfordia site as an arts & sustainable living precinct. In 2020 I move to Woodford, where I will be living on site. The survival of the Woodford Folk Federation has been threatened by extreme weather events and economic downturns which have affected the viability of the organisation and festival.  My work at Woodfordia will need to consider both the internal issues and the wider societal challenges.”

My experience as an architect, through global financial crises, has led me to rethink the nature of masterplanning. There is no singular ‘ideal environment’ that can protect us from real world problems. From consultation with stakeholders in 2020, I have developed a framework for adapting to turbulence. Instead of a shared dream, we aim for a shared permanent dialogue about dreams. At its heart is the transformative & connective power of the arts built upon sustainable living.

Firstly, there is the Self-Sufficient Arts Model

• The key elements are creative development, arts presentations and experiences and arts production and workshops
• This occurs through festivals, arts events and the art cabins
• Artists are performers and workshop facilitators at festivals, artists in residence, performing arts companies and collectives, musicians, installation artists, etc in all art forms
• Local suppliers support the precinct through the provision of goods and services, and they are supported economically
• Tourism supports the year round arts development program financially, and the arts program generates tourism
• Artists and collectives feed the artistic vibrancy of the precinct and also are supported in their development
• Sustainable living systems reduces waste and costs which supports the arts development program and people who visit the site can learn about sustainable living and be inspired to embrace it in their everyday lives

Secondly, there is the place network diagram, where Woodford is outward looking and connected to a trail of places, each with their own unique identity

Next, is the activity priority/likelihood diagram identifying how turbulence can affect the precinct:

• For example during economic downturns, tourism is expected to decline

Planning principles /patterns are developed over time to guide planning and to document knowledge and learnings. For example:

• Allow temporary structures near water channels, in a way that avoids erosion to riparian zones
• Or high intensity activity such as camping on degraded land

A plan exists for festival time and non-festival time.

• The plans map zones and space use
• The new permanent structures are all adaptable and are the art cabins, a multipurpose centre, a sustainable living centre, and an arts venue/stage
• In festival time the multipurpose centre is used as an arts venue, in non-festival time it can be used as a conference or function centre
• In festival time the arts venue is used as an amphitheatre stage, in non-festival time it can be used for creative development by artists, artist collectives and companies, and as a smaller arts events
• The cabins provide accommodation during all phases and during non-peak tourist or festival phases are regenerated by visual and installation artists in residence

This is all guided by an operations and user plan which maps out how the structures adapt during different phases – festivals, conferences and functions, tourism and arts development – and also outlines people capacities and flows. All of the plans and diagrams link together and are linked spatially to the precinct plans.

A microcosm of the adaptability of the precinct is one of the cabin areas in the terraces, formerly a camping area. The cabins follow the terrain. Pathways lead from the cabins to the carpark, sustainable living centre, and the festival village.

There are two cabin typologies. The cabins are linked to raised walkways with solar panel LED light posts and raised and covered communal areas with cooking facilities, recycling bins, compost and are key social areas.

The group living arrangement is suitable for conference work teams, tourism groups, festival performers, artists in residence teams and the planting volunteers. Cabins can adapt for different sleeping and sharing arrangements. They can be opened up to link with other cabins or closed for privacy, quiet and calm.  Furniture can be moved around to isolate different functions in individual cabins, eg. Living in one cabin and sleeping in others.

Clip on bunks increase the capacity of the cabins during peak times such as large festivals.  Cabins are raised off the ground to allow water flow during heavy rain. 

The structure is made up of a steel skeleton and the structural members on which the sheet metal roofing is supported allowing for air flow between the roof and the skeleton. Perforated skins wrap around and are fixed to the steel skeleton.

During economic decline, tourism slows. In this phase and during non-festival times, the artist in residence program is used to regenerate the cabins. I work with Artists to transform the cabins with perforated skins. Some artists use waste collected from festivals, which is stored in the sustainable living centre. The cabins become another art experience in the site, including the process of building the skins, which in turn drives tourism. And there is a view of the cabins at a gathering of performers of staff at the Woodford Folk Festival.”