A ‘bower’ is a simple structure traditionally used by indigenous Australians to shelter from sun, rain and wind. It has much in common with indigenous shelters built throughout the tropical regions north of Australia.
This studio references the bower as the basic component of shelter and seeks to understand its relevance for contemporary indigenous housing in Australia’s ‘top-end’. While a basic bower structure may not represent the aspirations of all indigenous Australians it does help us understand the key issue of shelter for the climate, culture and technologies (which in turn link with spatial forms and their capacities to define ‘place’).
This studio travelled to Darwin to build a community facility, The Media Box, from a recycled shipping container. Working closely with local indigenous trainees, tradespeople and members of the communities, students began to understand first hand the issues and aspirations of indigenous town campers.
The build phase has been completed and two new media boxes are now functional in Town Camps at Knuckeys Lagoon and Gudorrka
(Click the Community’s Name to View Timelapse Movies)
An exhibition presenting the work from the past three years of Bower studios ran from 04 -11 October 2010 in the Architecture Building Atrium, at the Univeristy of Melbourne. Check out photos from the closing night party.
David O’Brien & Hamish Hill – Studio Leaders
Silas Gibson & George Stavrias – Darwin Project Designers and Leaders
Leah Bell, Reza Bolouri, Mel Chan, Amy Clark, Beck DeHaas, Jessie Fowler, Court Gibbs, Rosie Gunzburg, Alie Kennedy, Chin Lim, Fabian Prideaux, Jingyi Tan, Frank Vedelago, Steph Westbrook and Lulu Zhai.
