Yunxi Du

The Invisible String

"I wonder, what ties a community together?
A solid string like the one for hanging out clothes to dry?
Or, is it invisible but everyone can feel it?"

Benefiting from my cultural background and rich memories of growing up in a highly interactive and socialised community in east Asia, I strongly feel the need for physical and psychological connections within the community under the Melbourne middle-ring suburb context.

The Invisible String is acting as a response to the current socially detached suburban context, aiming to ease the sense of detachment and isolation across individuals, families, and communities through processes of breakdown and reorganisation.

Learning from prototypical Japanese shared houses (シェアハウス), both internal and external spaces are broken down into smaller portions to maximise the function of shared spaces through specific design elements. Designs of common space aim to encourage incidental physical interactions while subtly guiding the senses toward the communal atmosphere.

To be more specific, the phenomenal connection is further strengthened through the interplay of heights and levels, visual penetration, and spatial qualities across indoor and outdoor spaces which form the invisible strings that tie the community together.