Sergio Achury from Australia | “Hey I’m Sergio, I'm currently studying architecture at UWA in Perth Western Australia, I am really enjoying my time at uni and can not wait to start my next project.”

University: University of Western Australia

Professor(s): Shane Winter

Instagram Username: @slabstudio_

Name of Project: Walyalup Aboriginal Centre

The Archiologist, Sergio Achury: Walyalup Aboriginal Centre

Project Description: The area around Arthur’s head has been an important location throughout the years. The area raises awareness of the past and history not only for Fremantle but for all Western Australia. This area represents different meanings for indigenous and non- indigenous people nevertheless, it is a place where both cultures meet and share with each other a big significance for the present and the future. Thorugh the last couple of decades, the Australian government has been putting a lot of effort to rectify the relationship between the two parts. Here is where architecture plays an important role.

Through the use of it non-indigenous and indigenous people would have a place where they can reconnect the broken relationships, a place where people would be able to celebrate the past to reshape the future. The site is an incredible opportunity where through the use of historical, cultural and built environment elements, we would be able to transform the poetics of the place into a building that spreads its principles through the design. The charm of the existing Mjaree- Fremantle area lay in its simple and classical appearance. The Walyalup Aboriginal centre is based on the characteristics of the built environment and the cultural factors that take place in the area.

The extension project accepts these elements and placed them all together to create a new building form that manipulates the heritage and cultural element of the site to develop a place that facilitates the interaction between the aboriginal culture and its visitors. The building is divided into three parts; cultural, commercial, and leisure. The culture is a heavy dark stone form that highlights the center in the town and it holds the exhibition, the community space, the library, and the bush garden, with a circular void in between them as a result of the pursuit of connectivity between the four parts. The commercial and leisure parts are the result of a mixture of heritage elements and new proposal elements. The Walyalup aboriginal center is a place that celebrates the aboriginal culture and invites the visitor to be part of it.