2014 Landscape Architecture Australia Student Prize: Deakin University

The Metamorphosis of Point Henry, Jillong by Tang Bryan Shen Siong Landscape Architecture Australia Student Prize Master of Landscape Architecture, Deakin University

Project statement

The Metamorphosis of Point Henry, Jillong seeks to transform an abandoned and polluted site into a healthy and recreational environment, conserving this spectacular site’s historic and cultural meaning to reflect its layers, but also Geelong’s cultural evolution to prompt future thinking.

Point Henry is a Geelong landmark embodying both Wathaurong country and colonial settlement, and epitomizes a landscape transformation from maritime and economic to post-industrial, while hosting vibrant recreational and birdwatching activities. Recently redundant as the site of an aluminium smelter, Point Henry needs a radical juxtaposition of design ideas for a new vision. This design draws inspiration from the flight of Bunjil – an Aboriginal mythological creator deity – over Corio Bay. Bunjil’s wings “hugging” and “protecting” the landscape are seen in a wing-cell structure offering a “respiratree” (respiratory + vegetation) framework to both heal and enable flight.

Reflective of Bunjil’s custodianship flight, the first space metaphorically leads people to experience and understand water and coastal processes; the second space features a “sculpture of reflection” that uses recycled materials and offers an incrementally twisting and structural flow through the site’s buildings, forests and sharp edges; the third space “immerses one in time” with twists and undulations in metal capturing the instable rhythm of waves and creating a fantastical landscape; and the fourth is an adventurous journey to the future.

Source

Award

Published online: 1 Feb 2015
Words: LandscapeAustralia Editorial Desk
Images: Tang Bryan Shen Siong

Issue

Landscape Architecture Australia, February 2015

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