Footscray FabLab
Typology
Adaptive Reuse
Sustainability
Community
Studio Leaders
Prof. Anthony Fryatt
Lingas Tran
Studio Partners
Woods Bagot
Year
2022
Collaborators
Fangying Yan
Jiahe Liang
Key Values
Through our proposal, we aim to transform the Docklands Cotton Mills into a thriving creative centre not just for artists or aligned professions but for the local community as well. We envision this to be a space where the community forms connections with and learns from the creative community that is already present on site. Our primary aim was to increase the porosity and permeability of the site and encourage more people to interact with the creatives.
After two visits to the Docklands Cotton Mills, what stood out most was that an outsider wouldn't know about the activities on site even after walking through it. The material palette is industrial and very opaque. There is no opportunity for interaction between the various artisans on site.
The first step to inviting new tenants and creating a community would be to increase the porosity and permeability of the site.
To make the site more permeable and invite new tenancies, we proposed a new laneway into the site that connects Moreland Street to the Maribyrnong Riverside Precinct. The Community Centre sits at the edge of this proposed laneway and attracts people into the Cotton Mills by giving them the opportunity to learn from the creatives on site and support them by purchasing their products.
The laneway runs through the site and connects the Community Centre to an Exhibition Space and Market Hall that sit along the river.
In order to increase visual and physical porosity, several design tactics were employed. Some of them are:
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Introduction of translucent and perforated facades to enable passersby to see inside a space.
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Shearing the facade wall to increase depth and field of view into the interior.
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Rotating retail spaces by 45 degrees to allow greater visibility.
The Community Centre houses workshop spaces where creatives can host classes and a performance space that can be used to host community events. The laneway itself could be used to house a market or a festival.
Across the laneway from the Community Centre, there are studios and co-working spaces on the first floor that aim to invite new tenancies and improve communication and collaboration among the creatives on site.
Legend:
1. Laneway
2. Community Centre Lobby
3. Retail Spaces
4. Workshop Spaces
5. Performance Space
6. Studios (First Floor)
7. Co-working (First Floor)
8. Bridge (First Floor)
9. Stairs/ Ramp
