Katherine Thomas

Back to Land

Since European settlement in Australia, the Victorian landscape has undergone significant alteration. With urban growth and development constantly accelerating, endemic ecosystems and native flora and fauna continue to be threatened out of existence. It would appear that with every new building, our memory of and respect for Land dwindles a little more.

My project aims to rebuild connection between people and the Land on which they dwell, starting by returning a fragment of one of Victoria's most at risk ecosystems to suburb of Brunswick West.  Further, my project aims to use a collective awareness of Land as a foundation for strengthened connections between people.

Looking to Australian vernacular and critically regional predecessors, my architecture learns to listen to the Land. From personalised micro-climates at the scale of the individual, to flexible and shared living arrangements at the scale of a community, my project weaves together a narrative of collaboration with, and harmony between, people, people, and Land.