Raising Understanding of Indigenous Australian Culture through Creative Production in Interior Architecture

Abstract

The search of displaced peoples for ways to connect with their culture underlines the need to explore the role of Interior Architecture in cultural rebuilding and communication. This paper demonstrates a way of applying cross-cultural design processes to the built environment within a tertiary educational context. It will be of interest to Interior Design educators and researchers involved in teaching processes concerned with the conjunction of culture and meaning. The paper illustrates some of the processes currently being explored to engage students in culturally specific design enquiry and production. Examples of student outcomes are presented, and the broader impact of the initiatives on research and writing is discussed. These teaching/research initiatives are in a very early stage, there is much to learn, and there are very exciting possibilities. This paper is intended to present a tentative position for critique and feed back.