Why we need to listen to First Australian voices to inform our architectural thinking

First Australian voices within the built environment make designing for architects really simple. Complicated problems in urban design, architecture and interior design quickly turn into rich and meaningful outcomes, seemingly in the blink of an eye. Why so? 

Because when we look through the lens of Australia’s First People, we find clear solutions and creative inspiration based on a world view steeped in mutual responsibilities for the wellbeing of other people and of our environment. Our purpose as custodians is unambiguous. For architects this brings clarity and vision to complex design scenarios.

While architectural briefs often cordon designers into a narrow band of choices centred on priorities such as cost and yield, Indigenous voices speak of enduring social and environmental systems focused on reciprocal relations.

With this comes an offer of an invigorating architectural story. A chance to finally discover and express who we are as a nation. A chance to draw on Indigenous thinking to alter our priorities. A chance to lock in the essential parts of an architectural brief that all to often get value managed out.

Aboriginal Spatial Design Explorations—Brackish Space

With the ebb and flow of each tide, the mixing of Freshwater with Saltwater creates a transformed landscape. My Aboriginal Elders speak of the sacredness of this ‘magic space.’ As custodians we must make sure the space is well kept and safe. In our cities, we can design-in sacred spaces to emulate this thinking. ‘Brackish Space’ sees an importance given to the in-between work and home space. With the ebb and flow of people at the turn of the social tide, communal spatial hubs can flourish and stimulate transition and connection.

If our design thinking locks this in as a sacred starting point, with other programs folding around the space, quality social outcomes can evolve without compromise. The narrative also blurs the hard lines of formal and informal, like the rise and fall of waters with each tide, the waterline is never the same which requires social agility and variance.