Patjarr Community Arts Centre Project
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This project won a
2004 State Award from the Australian Institute
of Architects.
During the 1960s, the Patjarr people were relocated to Warburton due to missile testing in the area, returning to both their traditional lands and customs in the 1980s. Their paintings and crafts have since gained national and international recognition and value, and it was proposed that a purpose built facility alongside the existing airstrip would best suit the needs of both the community and their increasing number of visitors.
The School of Art, Architecture and Design, through architecture lecturers David Morris and Nick Opie, in conjunction with former UniSA Architecture lecturer Dr Michael Tawa, began a long consultative process.
The logistics of such an ambitious undertaking in the middle of the Gibson Desert were immense and, within a budget of $82,000 from a Western Australian Lotteries Commission development grant, there was little margin for error.
Morris and Opie (along with lecturers Matt Rumbelow and Gerhard Schurer) drew upon experience from other student-designed and constructed projects. Materials were loaded into a shipping container and trucked 2,500km to the site. The 22 UniSA students had two weeks on site to assemble the building. In the final week, they were joined by architecture students from the University of New South Wales who completed the flooring and interior fit-out.
The School maintains a close association with the community and the project. The School is also working to assist Aboriginal communities in remote South Australia with similar proposals.
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