Living Lab Northern Rivers

We are pleased to see the forthcoming release of the Government Architect NSW Housing Pattern Book and commend the Government Architect for this initiative. Designed to accelerate the delivery of quality low- and middle-rise housing, the Pattern Book offers innovative, detailed solutions to deliver more and better housing. While many of the designs featured focus on urban contexts, we’ve heard calls for a regional equivalent to address the unique needs of our towns and villages. For now, we’re celebrating this milestone as a clear move in the right direction. A special shout out to Spacecraft Architects, who we hosted as part of our Bring It on Home exhibition and public program in 2023/24. Images: Spacecraft Architects winning mid-rise apartment design apartment design. Find out more about the Pattern Book at https://lnkd.in/gjHScyAa.

"In places like Lismore, we have to imagine another city. Being at the frontline of climate change and extreme weather events, putting the pieces back together as they were before seems foolish, and not something that many people are interested in around here. The challenge we face is that our current systems better support top-down, technically derived placemaking than they do truly facilitate bottom-up, place-based planning. There is no doubt that we need top-down resourcing and authorised processes, but we need them to be deeply informed by a bottom-up vision for the city."   Dan Etheridge will be sharing experiences of resilience and adaptation in the Northern Rivers region at The Architecture Symposium: An/Other City this Friday 29 November. Curated by Andrew Burges of ABA Architects Inc. and Maryam Gusheh of Monash Art, Design and Architecture, this event explores the architectural possibilities of a less centralised urban life. Speakers will investigate how works of architecture and infrastructure can galvanise and better support new urban environments, and what factors are informing the architectural project within these satellite cities.    Find out more at https://lnkd.in/gjyuZvB5.   #designspeaksAU

In her contribution to Field Notes: Repair, the latest narrative survey from Places Journal, Elizabeth Mossop suggests that a "business as usual" mindset is hindering our ability to adapt and thrive in a rapidly changing climate, and education is our most powerful tool in making the cultural transition that is so urgently required. Read more at https://lnkd.in/gtttK-cF Field Notes: Repair is an exploration of the keen and rising interest in practices of repair, reuse, preservation, maintenance, and care, and the growing conviction that such practices are vitally important to our cultures and economies, our ecosystems and ecologies.

Many residential properties in North Lismore are part of the buyback stream of the NSW Reconstruction Authority Resilient Homes Program, the largest residential buyback program in Australian history. As the suburb transitions from a vibrant neighbourhood to a new future, many local stories, it’s history and the deep understanding of place will move with the residents.  Living Memory: Portraits and stories celebrating North Lismore is a community project exploring the stories, history and memories of North Lismore. At the heart of this work is the desire to creatively support a community experiencing a massive transformation — to tell their stories in their own words. With North Lismore residents, we are collaborating with Adele Wessell at Southern Cross University and Cherine Fahd at University of Technology Sydney to create a series of reflections and portraits, and a collection of historical materials and artefacts, celebrating the people and a suburb now rapidly changing.  Read more about the Living Memory project at https://lnkd.in/g7DS8gJz. Illustration by Rick Shearman. Photo by Elise Derwin.

Join us tonight for the opening of our new exhibition, Tracing the Past, Shaping the Future in our Lismore shopfront. Developed collaboratively with Jagun Alliance Aboriginal Corporation, Zion Engagement and Planning, Agency In Design and ReconEco, this exhibition is an invitation to explore how Indigenous Knowledges and cultural land management can shape a more sustainable future. Find out more at https://lnkd.in/g-kpQPQV. Southern Cross University NSW Reconstruction Authority University of Technology Sydney

As part of the Look Ahead: Community design for Lismore process, we engaged with a diverse group of community members in public workshops and conversations. The goal was to capture the community's vision for a future Lismore, which would guide a panel of design experts in shaping future scenarios. Key themes emerged from these discussions, reflecting local priorities and aspirations for the Lismore CBD and its surroundings:   *Regenerate and celebrate the river *Increase safe, diverse and affordable housing *Improve public and active transport infrastructure *Invest in food security and urban food options *Nurture a circular economy and regenerative industries *Improve parklands, green spaces and reclaimed land *Become a world-leading, adaptive and resilient city *Create a flood-resilient and safe CBD For more details on the insights gathered from the community meetings, explore the comprehensive summary document. Learn more about Look Ahead at https://lnkd.in/g8EZJsVq. Southern Cross University University of Technology Sydney NSW Reconstruction Authority

How did Look Ahead: Community design for Lismore get started? Who is Living Lab Northern Rivers? How does the co-design process work and what makes it different?  We chatted with Elizabeth Mossop, Dan Etheridge, Nicole Gurran and Craig Allchin about the ways that Look Ahead is helping the Lismore community to build back better following the 2022 Northern Rivers floods.   Find out more about this project at https://lnkd.in/g8EZJsVq. Note: this video begins with 10 seconds of footage of Lismore during the 2022 floods.

How can working with community to deepen our knowledge of local waterways help reduce the impacts of flooding? As part of the Southern Cross University Vice Chancellor’s Flood Recovery Project Scheme, Amanda Reichelt Brushett, Emily Horton, Adele Wessell and Dr Brendan Cox have been collaborating with people across the Northern Rivers to bring together a wealth of knowledge about the Richmond River. Their research explores the ways we live with a dynamic and highly modified river in our landscape, with the ambition to develop creative new solutions that will allow us to live in harmony with our waterways, regenerate the landscape and reduce the impacts of flooding. Join us for a conversation with Emily, Adele and Brendan in our Lismore shopfront to hear about their research. Part of Richmond Riverfest 2024. #weareallriverkeepers Richmond Riverkeeper University of Technology Sydney NSW Reconstruction Authority

At Living Lab Northern Rivers, we think that local knowledge is as important as technical expertise when it comes to planning for the future of a community. That’s why we started the Look Ahead co-design process by asking the Lismore community their hopes, dreams and ideas for a sustainable future. Starting in late 2023, it stepped in where governmental efforts had yet to begin. The aim was to integrate this work into local and state government planning. However, we focused on combining local insights with technical expertise through trusted independent organisations. This project is central to many recommendations in the NSW Flood Inquiry report, and an ongoing testament to the power of community-led design. Find out more about Look Ahead at https://lnkd.in/g8EZJsVq. Southern Cross University University of Technology Sydney NSW Reconstruction Authority

A group of Northern Rivers-based reclaimed timber experts recently came together in our Lismore shopfront to share ideas, challenges and feasibility of using reclaimed timber from flood-damaged homes to create new objects. This workshop was the start of a collaboration with University of Technology Sydney researchers Angelique Milojevic and Berto Pandolfo that will lead us toward identifying timbers that can be reused, and discovering the most cost-effective ways of separating and using them. Now we are inviting expressions of interest from established local makers to create objects using timber that will be salvaged from two Lismore homes. Find out more about this NSW Reconstruction Authority-funded project and EOI at https://lnkd.in/gRGn4yTf Southern Cross University #circulareconomy #northernriversfloods