The new premises for the Atlantic Fellows for Social Equity (AFSE) is five storeys above the ground, within an existing office floor plate at the University of Melbourne. The unexpected airiness you feel upon entering has been achieved by the meticulous specification, detailing and placement of the elements in the space. For me, this project answers a number of poignant and urgent questions: How do we design with Country in dense urban environments? How might we build legacy relationships with suppliers? How do we embed materiality and the environment in ways that fundamentally transform space?
Established in 2016 with funding from the Atlantic Philanthropies, the AFSE is an Indigenous-led program designed to build capacity and capability in Indigenous communities. The program
