Gadi people
New South Wales
The 119 Redfern St project, the accessibility upgrade of an 1880s Victorian Italianate building, posed the challenge of enabling not only physical but psychological accessibility: a space for an engaged and proud First Nations community.
Re-read through the lens of Country, this place is celebrated and honoured. Once prevalent turpentine forest is remembered, and the powerful owl recognised as a symbol of resilience.
A dedicated entry space, lift tower and lobbies refocus the building. A new script is written onto the site as this new way of entering and inhabiting colonial spaces within reclaims them for Aboriginal communities. Accessibility becomes celebratory, expanding into new shared yet protected spaces.
The response celebrates existing building materials wrought from Country while reclaimed materials make use of what has already been taken.
In our work together we seek better ways of understanding and living with Country and to acknowledge what is enough.
The Australian Institute of Architects acknowledges First Nations peoples as the Traditional Custodians of the lands, waters, and skies of the continent now called Australia.
We express our gratitude to their Elders and Knowledge Holders whose wisdom, actions and knowledge have kept culture alive.
We recognise First Nations peoples as the first architects and builders. We appreciate their continuing work on Country from pre-invasion times to contemporary First Nations architects, and respect their rights to continue to care for Country.
