FUTURE SITES: IMAGINING A NEW HUNTER VALLEY
STEM INNOVATION LAB, Donald Horne Building, Muswellbrook
March 06 - March 28th, 2024
Exhibition of Student Work and Panel Discussion
Student projects from Masters of Architecture Program at the School of Architecture and Built Environment, The University of Newcastle
This exhibition of student work draws together projects produced in ‘Do Not Be Afraid’, an Architecture Design Studio run in 2023 by Dr Sam Spurr. The student work was recomposed and re-contectualised into a community focussed format, and paired with an panel discussion that launched the work and engaged local stakeholders, experts, and community together in dialogue with the playful, daring and thoughtful projects.
Across a semester long design studio, the student’s focussed on the social, political, economic, cultural and spatial conditions of landscapes and communities that exist in proximity to open cut mining. With a focus on the extracted landscape and void spaces left behind after mine closures, the student’s design propositions look to visualise and spatialise futures for these types of sites. These speculative imaginings range from small inserted pieces of architecture to large scale propositions including agricultural networks, hydrogen plants and fog harvesting machines. Others, shift away from the physical void, and focus instead on methods of re-mapping, and engaging with community and stakeholders - turning to techniques like weaving, drawing and storytelling to open up the possibilities and unknowns of these spaces.
These vibrant reimagining's visualise a future for mines and associated extracted landscapes, grappling with the scale and depth of these sites and the ambitions of their surrounding communities. These ideas, curated and situated back in the locailty that they speak to set the stage for discussions that involved local government, industry professionals, and researchers.
With an eye on the impending closure of mining sites in the next two decades, this exhibition spotlights the recent announcement of closure for Mount Arthur as a catalyst for discussions and a focal point for exploring concerns and possibilities for the future of the Hunter Valley. The collective conversation and presentation of work aims to spark inspiration among stakeholders and communities, encouraging their involvement in a collaborative and community-engaged co-design process.
Through this event and display of works, we aspire to imagine and visualise alternatives for the Mount Arthur site and the Hunter Valley. Prompted by the exciting student propositions, the panel and projects discuss the possibilities of a dynamic and enduring future for the Hunter Valley – And ask, what does this future look like?
Studio Lead:
Associate Professor Sam Spurr
Research Assistant:
Dr Sandra Currasco
Students:
Naiping Nong, Zhu Zeng, Yingqi Huang, Jiehao Liang, Jinhao Cai, Josephine Lawson, Syahmina Zulkepli, Natasha Pursehouse, Xun Chen, Joshua Hart, ZIqi Fan, Anagha Vivek Moore, Dharshini Mahendran Radhamani, Ziyuan Huang, Shen Lou, Donghang Cai, Xiyang Su, Hengrui Chen, Samuel Gibbs
Panellists:
Associate Professor Sam Spurr, Head of Discipline Architecture, The School of Architecture and Built Environment, The University of Newcastle.
Rob Cooper, Senior Manager Stakeholder Engagement, AGL NSW.
Liz Watts, BHP NSWEC Vice President
Barry Williams, Lecturer in Cultural Landscape School of Architecture and Built Environment, The University of Newcastle
Sophie Nichols, PhD Candidate, School of Humanities, Creative Industries and Social Science (Sociology and Anthropology), The University of Newcastle, speaking on behalf of Hunter Renewal
Panel Chair:
Associate Professor Hedda Askland, School of Humanities, Creative Industries and Social Science (Sociology and Anthropology), The University of Newcastle
Exhibition and Event curated by D’Arcy Newberry-Dupé.
