Full Project Report
Riawunna Aboriginal Studies Centre, University of Tasmania
by Phin Murphy and Tim Hart
"Riawunna-the living landscape expressed through the living culture."
Overview
The design for the new Riawunna Aboriginal Studies Centre at the University of Tasmania was generated by the Landscape Architects, working with local indigenous people involved with the Centre. The design process centred around community based consultation, to maximise input from the local indigenous people. This involvement ensured that the design outcome maintained a firm integrity with the Community members and, through its realisation, has become an expression of their landscapes and their culture.
Built for a modest budget, the landscape complements the evocative architecture, form and materials of Peter Elliott's Riawunna building.
The University's design brief for the Riawunna Centre called for a building with its own address point, separate identity and an `Aboriginal Native Garden' to a contained courtyard. Through the synergy between the landscape and the architecture and the contribution of the Community members, what has been constructed goes beyond this objective.
Pedestrian access connecting the carpark, Riawunna and the Faculty of Arts Precinct.
Photo: John Gollings
Fire pit flanked by the granite sitting wall and the dolerite stones.
photo: Jim Sinatra
Aims
The intent of the design was to assert that Tasmania's indigenous culture is very much alive, contrary to the popular misnomer that `all were massacred'. This resulted in the identified direction for the design workshops as the living landscape expressed through the living culture.
As a result of these workshops, the design process focused on two primary objectives.
Firstly, to develop a garden design that reflected the local indigenous culture, the Tasmanian landscape and cultural connection to the land through the `stories' of the indigenous people.
Secondly, to establish the functional role of the garden in relation to the Centre's special needs and resources in providing educational and cultural services for its client group. For example the Centre's courtyard space is considered of equal functional importance as the interior spaces in providing a culturally responsive, supportive and comfortable education environment.
Significance of Project
The project is a powerful statement of Riawunna (meaning circle) using large dolerite stones placed around the building and its landscape. The dolerite stones make a reference to Launceston's Gorge, which was a source of inspiration during the workshop and is considered a place of spiritual significance. They also symbolise a permanent and continued culture in Tasmania. The new building sits in a field of Yakkas (Xanthorrhoea sp.) on a quartzite surface, which is being planted as an ongoing activity for people at the Centre. The internal garden focuses on the firepit, which is surrounded by flat granite `field stones', forming a seating wall on the north side, and backed by a shell-grit and tussock landscape that makes a link to the cultural heritage of the islands and coast. Smaller `spirit stones' refer to different parts of Tasmania where different tribal groups lived prior to `invasion'. A collection of culturally significant plants enclose the internal garden, providing a screen from the carpark when mature.
The overall result is a landscape that is identified as Riawunna and presents the building as one of its components. Importantly, the garden expresses a cultural connection to `country', and is considered an important statement about Tasmania's indigenous culture by the indigenous client group. This involvement has been fundamental to the acceptance and success of the project.
Front entrance to Riawunna Photo: John Gollings
Relationship to Context
In accordance with the project brief, the landscape design firmly established the individual identity of the Riawunna Aboriginal Centre. The design also estalished a garden that sits within the broader landscape context of the new Faculty of Arts Precinct.
One of the objectives identified during the design workshop was for the architecture and the landscape to be developed as the new Centre, as opposed to the architecture alone. The materiality of the landscape responds to this objective through the synergy between the landscape and the architecture, which is expressed in the contrast between the clean metal skin of the building and the rich colour and texture of the stones. Both are presented on the white base of quartzite, relying on each other for their full identity.
Chris Calverley of Calverley Landscaping directs the rock placement
Photo by: Phin Murphy
Phin works with members of Riawunna in developing the design concept on the workshop model.
Expression of the Concept
In November 1998, eight members of Riawunna worked with the consultants to establish the living landscape expressed through the living culture as the direction for the design concept. In December, a design workshop was carried out using a scale model of the proposed building and its site, and local materials chosen and collected by members of the Centre. The result was the landscape being developed as the statement of Riawunna (circle).
Emphasis was placed on maintaining the integrity of the concept throughout all phases of the project through to construction. The model was used as the basis for the design development drawing, and a separate Rock Selection Drawing was prepared as a `shopping list' to ensure that the character of the stones depicted on the model was retained. Each stone was individually chosen by the consultants, approved by the client group, and assigned a location. The consultants worked with Chris Calverley of Calverley Landscaping to position the stones in relation to the building. The same commitment was adopted for all special elements in the garden, including the quartzite garden beds, planting material and the granite `field stone' seating wall. The model expressed the client's requirements, and was the tool used to ensure that the final design outcome maintained a firm integrity with the original concept.
Cost Effectiveness
The project was built for less than $60 000, within a total landscape budget for the Faculty of Arts Precinct of $250 000. Cost savings were made through the involvement of community members, particularly aspects of the construction and sourcing of materials from quarry or construction by-products. All materials used on the project were sourced from within Tasmania.
Design development plan prepared using the workshop model
Specifications for selection of dolerite stones.
Environmental Responsibility
The dolerite stones chosen for the project were part of a spoil heap at a large warehouse development in Kings Meadows, Launceston. The gravel mulch used around the Riawunna building is a white quartzite material that is a quarry waste material. Planting for the project is exclusively indigenous and largely from coastal areas of Tasmania; this has meant that the use of irrigation is mainly limited to lawn areas.
Interesting Facts
The dolerite stones chosen for the project weigh up to 14 tonnes, with a maximum height of approximately 4.5 metres.
The materials used on the project, including `spirit stones', shell grit, field stones and dolerite boulders, have been collected from different geological and geographical regions from within Tasmania, to represent the diverse landscapes of the Riawunna Community members.
The stonework, which is the most striking element of the project (including dolerite boulders, granite field stone walls), cost less than $25 000 to supply and install.
Project Team
Client: Univ of Tasmania and members of the Riawunna Community
Project Architect: Peter Elliott Architects
P/L Consultation Process: Sinatra-Murphy
Concept Design: Sinatra-Murphy and members of the Riawunna Aboriginal Studies Centre
Design Development: Sinatra-Murphy and Urban Initiatives Pty Ltd
Documentation and Contract Administration: Urban Initiatives Pty Ltd
Rock Placement: Calverley Landscaping and Sinatra-Murphy
On-site Design of Seating Wall and Firepit: Calverley Landscaping and members of Riawunna Aboriginal Studies Centre
