A Design Studio Project at Cherbourg, Queensland

The focus of this studio was on the design and research of a proposed material recycling facility (MRF) that will serve the Indigenous community of Cherbourg in rural Queensland and surrounding townships. Student involvement in the design and research of the MRF at Cherbourg was supported by the Cherbourg Aboriginal Shire Council, the client for this project. Under the guidance of Dr Steve Burroughs, the architect commissioned to bring the project to realisation, the project provided an opportunity for students to conduct fieldwork in Cherbourg for five days. Over this period students formulated design concepts for the site earmarked for the MRF. After returning from the field, the students spent nine weeks in the studio refining their concepts, drawing on field data and relevant literature on recycling facilities. They presented their work to a design jury, which consisted of landscape architects, the sponsor from Indigenous Business Australia, and recycling facility proponents.

The project was led by the University of Canberra’s Adjunct Prof Steve Burroughs and Dr Scott Heyes.

Read journal paper on the project