School of Architecture, Design and Planning

The Future of Housing and Urban Design on Gununa

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Part of the exhibition Purpose Built: Architecture for a Better Tomorrow,
State Library of Queensland, Brisbane, 2 September–14 April 2024

Lead researchers: Carroll Go-Sam, Dr Kelly Greenop, Dr Kali Marnane, Dr Maram Shaweesh

Gununa, Mornington Island is facing a range of problems familiar to many in remote Indigenous communities: housing that is not fit for purpose, both culturally and environmentally, with too little housing for the community and energy security disparities.

Engaged by the Mornington Shire Council to provide guidance on a future development on the Island, the research team for this project began by surveying existing housing stock and infrastructure. They spoke with home occupiers to determine the current state of the built environment on the island and assessed the needs of the community for the future.

This informed a report for the Mornington Shire Council, which aimed to guide the Council about how to improve current procurement practices and implement design for housing on the Island in a way that considers the community cultures and the environment. It includes a guideline called Gununaean Design Principles, and a Briefing and Procurement Model.

The design response recommendations identified in the report include improving the streetscape of Gununa through maintenance and beautification strategies such as weed eradication, street planting, and provision of public bins and pavements. Photograph: Dr Kali Marnane.
Survey participants were recruited using a pre-research community information campaign (video and flyers) followed by a snowballing technique. Flyers were printed and attached to the local Post Office and other notice boards. Photograph: Dr Kali Marnane.
A drawing by high school student Leron: “My favourite place in Gununa is out bush ​​​​​​and at home because there is a lot of things to do out bush. It is where my family lives and where I get to have free time besides cleaning up.”
Without passive design strategies, houses become “hot boxes” in summer and too cold in winter. “Heat” design diagram: Dr Kali Marnane.

The aim is to produce dwellings that are economically sustainable for residents and government cost models, as well as climatically and culturally appropriate. Recommendations from the research project included siting dwellings with passive design principles in mind to maximise breezes, reduce sun exposure, and provide ample shaded outdoor spaces; offering greater diversity of housing options to allow for a range of family types and sizes; facilitating privacy; and supporting community interaction.

Future research will integrate energy and climate experts to go beyond housing design and look at broader infrastructure and resource disparities on the Island embedded in the built environment.

Included in the exhibition were children's drawings of the island, created together with UQ researcher and architect Kali Marnane in 2022. These sat alongside children's drawings of the island created in 1975 as part of a series of some 3383 drawings and paintings on paper made between 1975–1977 by Aboriginal children from 70 schools across Australia. These artworks were collected by the Aboriginal Arts Board for potential use in The Aboriginal Children's History of Australia: Written and Illustrated by Australia's Aboriginal Children. The book, published by Rigby, Adelaide in 1977, forms part of the National Library of Australia catalogue, while the original artworks are held by the National Museum of Australia.

Read more about the project, how it came about and the research outcomes on the School of ADP website here.

Conversation

Rethinking Gununa housing – What would Indigenous-led design look like?
1 February 2024, State Library of Queensland

UQ researchers Carroll Go-Sam and Dr Kelly Greenop discuss Indigenous-led design and their work on the very remote island of Gununa, Mornington Island.

Interview – Carroll Go-Sam

 

ResearchersCollaborators
Carroll Go-Sam
Dr Kelly Greenop
Dr Kali Marnane
Dr Maram Shaweesh

 		Mornington Shire Council
Mirndiyan Mornington Island Art (MIART) Centre
UQ School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Mirndiyan Mornington Island Art (MIART) Centre
Mornington Shire Council
Department of Seniors, Disability Services, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Programs – Remote Indigenous Land and Infrastructure Program Office Rilipo
Qld Department of Communities, Housing & Digital Economy