ABBOTSFORD / CLIFTON HILL by REALMstudios
Postcards from the future
Project Statement
This project is based on the premise that by 2070, Melbourne has been transformed into a networked, consolidated ecosystem designed around regenerative processes and environmental stewardship. Multiple narrative voices are used to describe the changes in beliefs, actions and infrastructure that could occur from 2024 onwards.
Through stories of future citizens, the designers propose that the current expansion of the city and subsequent contraction of the river can be reversed; that the Birrarung, allowed to ebb and flow on its natural cycles, can regain prominence as the most influential force in the catchment. Instead of resisting the Birrarung, the city can co-exist with its changes, integrating the cycles, systems and stories of the river.
Through speculative design, this project advocates for a future reconnection between nature and the people who occupy the city, as well as the foregrounding of First Nations leaders in decisions that impact the Birrarung. What results is a vision for 2070 that can be implemented gradually by the community to create abundance using fewer resources.
Presented as a pixelated map in motion, this animation offers an example of how a map can be designed to depict changes through time. Accepting change as a constant, REALMstudios have used movement and a unique graphic language to map the Birrarung and its territory, rendering it live and sometimes elusive, like the flow of the river itself.
About REALMstudios
REALMstudios is a collective of practitioners focused on integrating natural ecologies within urban systems to create resilient communities. Through reading, research and realisation, REALMstudios undertake explorations into place, incorporating broad fields of knowledge and synthesising through creative collaboration. For REALMstudios, the way to evolve our cities is through solving the most pressing collective issues – not only environmental, but also social and economic – to restore a shared sense of community.