University of Melbourne student concept designs

Lines: Traces, Threads and Surfaces

With support from Manningham City Council, University of Melbourne Landscape Architecture Masters students have explored planning and design options for a linear site of some three kilometres from Doncaster Hill and Westfield to Ruffey Lake Park.

The students gained a rich appreciation of the site through site visits and preparation of a site inventory and analysis report (9Mb), helping them to generate a suite of sustainable and innovative concept designs for the site that support the planning strategies for the region.

The concept designs were also based on discussions and debates that surrounded two critical readings on ways of seeing the landscape. - 'Lines' by Tim Ingold (2005) and 'The Elegant Universe' by Brian Greene (2003). The readings encouraged students to challenge the conventions of traces, threads and surfaces, and how these ways of seeing, knowing and representing the land might be interpreted in the context of landscape architecture.

The students' concept designs included rain gardens, wetlands, water features, plazas, meeting areas, underpasses, land art installations, traffic control measures, street realignments and lighting arrangements.

Below is a selection of the student's final assignments, including 3D CAD models. The quality and variety of works created here provides a rich conversational tapestry for the vision of Doncaster Hill.

For further information on these projects please contact Gary Lantzsch from Manningham City Council, gary.lantzsch@manningham.vic.gov.au, or Dr Scott Heyes from the University of Melbourne, sheyes@unimelb.edu.au. For more information on the course visit the University of Melbourne website.

Click on the images to download each file.