What socially just, culturally rich and ecologically restorative
adaptive reuse looks like.
ILLUMANATE
Luma, Sunshine North, Victoria
Client
Living Future Institute of Australia and
Development Victoria
Type
Adaptive Reuse | Place Making
Year
2023
Team
Includesign
Dominique Hes
Mine the Sky
Elena Pereyra
Competition
First Prize
What are the key initiatives and spatial strategies to regenerate the place and contribute to the larger social and ecological systems that the building is part of ?
The competition challenged design teams to reimagine a 1970’s heritage listed brutalist building. It asked what socially just, culturally rich and ecological restorative adaptive reuse looks like.
Our project proposes a relational hub of activity to evolve a culture of cooperation. It proposes a narrative that moved between the two creeks on site, aiming to honour the story of place from the traditional practices of the Kurung-jang-balluk people. The design highlights the potential for residents and visitors to rediscover the relationship of caring for place and each other.
The project applies regenerative design principles and the Living Building Challenge framework. The LBC certification is a high-performance program that sets the benchmark for buildings that go beyond sustainability with regenerative design. It is one of the most advanced measures for sustainability worldwide.
The regeneration of this site represents a unique opportunity to restore not only the building and the area within the site’s boundary but also to honour the story of fertility that underpins this place and enable this story to inspire all the design, engagement, building program, landscape program and management initiatives that will transform this place and its context.
Our team proposed six guiding principles that weave the Living Building Challenge performance categories. These principles are:
1. Caring For Country
Having the building and the landscape as a place that helps the community to understand how to care for Country, what to plant, how to share, how to fix, and how to build. The landscape program includes areas such as reconciliation gardens, a frog pond and orchid garden connecting to the seven seasons.
2. Honour Story and Essence
The proposal surfaces the story of place and its purpose through design in and around the building.
3. Walking Together
Supporting Indigenous procurement and working closely with Mine the Sky, a start-up that brings Fire Back to Country, celebrates carbon and enables local biochar production to support bringing back fertility to the land and learning from the ancient practices that have served this place.
5. Love of Place
Creating places to connect with nature and with each other. Providing diverse indoor and outdoor areas that support people of all ages and diverse abilities. Fostering deep connections with natural systems, through joy, reflection, play, restoration and celebration.
Agency and caring through community participation – inviting Traditional Owners and the community to co-design the Caring for Country plan, bringing in their traditions and ideas to the detailed design.
4. Touch the Building Lightly
Our design purposely changes as little as is needed to restore the building and enable a place fit for the future. A comfortable and healthy environment able to hold diverse activities, fostering relationships, wellbeing, health, joy and connections to the outdoors. Creating delightful moments, such as two lightwell gardens, located strategically as acupuncture points to heal the building, bring daylight and connection to nature.. Our proposal aims for a passive house retrofit that achieves Enerphit standards while preserving the heritage character and integrity of the building.
6. Circularity and Local Economy
The process of regenerating the place and the building is also about bringing fertility back socially, connecting with Indigenous businesses, local businesses, local nurseries and social enterprises to the creation of this project and enabling a circular economy around it.
Our project creates places to experience first hand the values of a circular economy such as a repair cafe, community gardens, coworking spaces and a library of stuff.
The selection of materials prioritises local, recycled and reclaimed materials first. If those materials are not available then we have proposed DECLARE products, if not available then Green Tag or GECA.
A co-creative and enriching process
Our entry was co-created in deep collaboration with a group of inspiring professionals that share our regenerative values. At Includesign we cherish not only the outstanding outcome but the whole process of creating our competition team and winning entry. The process involved constant dialogues and workshops exploring the potential of the site from diverse perspectives.
Big thanks to Aimee Mehan, Dominique Hes and Elena Pereyra. Aimee Mehan from Mine the Sky brought her First Nations perspective and worked with us to bring fire back to Country through a technology that her company has developed. Dominique Hes contributed her deep knowledge on regeneration, place making and the LBC tool. Elena Pereyra brought her local and community knowledge ensuring that the proposal is connected to the creeks, active transport corridors and the wider community. At Includesign we see this project as the opportunity to bring regenerative design in action, to explore and showcase the benefits of this approach in unleashing place potential while restoring a heritage building.
Project Team: Angelica Rojas, Marco Cubillos, Dominique Hes, Elena Pereyra, Aimee Mehan, Alex Arboleda.
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