Sea Lake Charrette dancing under the stars This report is prepared for: Project team: Victorian Centre for Climate Change Ad- Rob Roggema aptation Research Centre for Design, RMIT University Rod Keenan Prof John Martin Director Sustainable Regional Communities, La Trobe University Buloke Shire Prof Ralph Horne Mark Remnant Centre for Design, RMIT University Community Development Officer Prof Roger Jones Victoria University Advance Sea Lake Inc. Dr Stephen Clune Grant Alday Centre for Design, RMIT University Chair Danny Lindenbergh Centre for Design, RMIT University Name: Sea Lake Charrette, dancing under the stars For more information about the project Date: 10 July 2012 please contact: Authors: Rob Roggema Rob Roggema, Prof Roger Jones, Dr Ste- Centre for Design, RMIT University phen Clune and Danny Lindenbergh 124 La Trobe Street Building 15, Level 2, Room 11 For the project: Design-led Decision Sup- Melbourne VIC 3000 port for Regional Climate Adaptation Email: [email protected] content Preface Management summary Charrette Program Participants Introduction The Sea Lake Design Charrette: the results - past-present-future - surroundings - town - plasticine scenarios Appraisal Reflections Background material - “Bringing Knowledge to Life” - The Project: Design-led Decision Support for Regional Climate Adapttaion - The Design Charrette - Sea Lake & Buloke Shire - Site Data - Climate Change and Sea Lake References preface The ‘design-led decision support for re- We have been very lucky that all partici- gional climate adaptation’ project builds pants showed this agility during the design on the participating regional councils for charrette. We look back at an intense and their support and willingness to be part of exciting design process, in which innova- the project. Climate change and its im- tive solutions have been proposed and we pacts are to a certain extent uncertain look forward to continue the and this is valid for this project also. The conversation in the future. approach to organise design charrettes A special thank you is appropriate for represents this, because in the format of Grant Alday as our main contact in Sea design charrettes there is room to experi- Lake, who, on behalf of the Advance Sea ment, adjust the process when circum- Lake Inc. group has supported this event stances change and apply new informa- to happen and helped us to put together tion whenever available. the right group of participants, provided However, dealing with these uncertainties us with the right background material and implies dealing with a certain risk that the gave us feedback on the process and outcomes will not be as expected. This program. requires courage of the council that hosts On behalf of all the members in the pro- the design charrette. Therefore, Buloke ject team, I would like to thank all partici- Shire and the Advance Sea Lake group pants in the Design Charrette for their deserves all the credits for supporting en- contributions! thusiastically the initiating, organisation en execution of the design charrette. In dealing with the impacts of climate change the solutions are diverse and may change over time. A well-engineered solu- tion for the problem is therefore in many occasions not satisfying. The solutions are multi-dimensional and require a combina- tions of solutions for each of the parts. This requires agility in the mindset of the designers and participants of the design Rob Roggema charrette. The use of several methods to Project Manager design a desired future for a climate proof Design-led Decision Support for Regional Sea Lake, whether the use of post-its, pen- Climate Adaptation cils and maps or plasticine was required, Centre for Design, RMIT University added to this ability. 4 July 2012 management summary The town of Sea Lake, halfway Bendigo historical wonders. The history of the sea construct the right combination of ac- and Mildura and in the middle of the most lakes is extremely exciting and new scien- tivities at any desired moment. This will important grain producing region in Vic- tific technologies can be discovered using provide the income, the safety and the toria, faces a tough future. Already, the this knowledge. The aboriginal heritage in quality of living together. The sense of town suffers from droughts, hot summers the area is rich and needs to be studied in community in Sea Lake is very strong and and occasional failing harvests. The future all its broadness. made it possible to develop the frame- only accelerates these weather impacts. • Advance agricultural education: work, which provides the pathways for- A focus on producing grain only could The existing strengths at Tyrrell College can ward. Sea Lake is a true example of a well proof a wrong future pathway. Its be extended into an international valued small town, which is able to develop, to dependency on a single form of income education. The connectedness, both vir- improve quality of life and improve its live- is fragile. Therefore, the people from Sea tual as in exchanging students with therest ability. Lake discussed how a coherent future of the world belongs to the core of the The priority areas mentioned above offer for their town might look like. The design Agricultural centre of excellence in Sea the stronghold when in the future choices charrette of Sea Lake resulted in a spatial Lake. are required. It offers the contours within long-term framework that deals with these • Facilitate with accommodations: which the town, together with Buloke shire future challenges. It came up with several, the development of Sea Lake as a vibrant can jointly develop proposals to realise very clear prioritary policy areas: city with a focus on tourism and education their ambitions. It offers the basis to claim • Innovate current farming: The new- requires a range of quality accommoda- a profound position in Federal and State est technology allows farmers to organise tion. For visitors the accommodation rang- level funding schemes for regional and their production process remotely and as es from simple RV-parks to farm stays and sustainable development. managers of vertical integrated farms. A luxury lake edge lodges. Students, profes- This design charrette is been organised range of new products and services can sionals and elderly need to be accom parallel to the so-called ‘small charrette’. thus be added as the output of the farm. modated with accessible housing, which In this small charrette primary school chil- • Lock in natural wonders: The unique can range from yurts and tee pees to semi dren have been working on the same natural and cultural setting of Sea Lake al- attached care units and large modern vil- issues and topics. They developed their lows for the development of special tourist las. visions for a future in Sea Lake under cli- attraction, such as star gazing above Lake No matter how serious the climatic im- matic and economic constraints. Mutual Tyrrell or the development of Land-Art in pacts may become, one thing became exchange of ideas has been proven very and around town. A new arts precinct clear: “Leaving is no option”. The frame- fertile. A sustainable and climate proof around the silos creates a vibrant town work that has been developed during the development of Sea Lake forms the com- centre, where galleries, shops, cafes and charrette illustrates that a small community munal theme. restaurants open and space is found for can decide to be prepared for the fu- a planetarium, a museum and artists resi- ture through diversifying its functionalities, dencies. The silos themselves are used to facilities and services. The choice to shift project movies and as a climbing wall. its focus from farming only towards educa- • Unlock the science of geology and tion, tourism and science shows the power history: the area is full of geological and of the community: it enables them to charrette program was which land use types, such as forest, DAY 01// 15 JUNE 2012 / FRIDAY agriculture, residential, etc). We will put this information on a map and illustrate EXPLORING THE PAST, this with historical pictures. PRESENT AND FUTURE 0730 pm DESIGN SESSION 02: 0600 pm WELCOME & INTRODUCTION NOW Welcome Cr. David Pollard, Mayor What is the current situation in Sea Lake? Buloke Shire Council Several analytical maps will be prepared beforehand and will be presented (land- Sea Lake use, topography, planning zones, trans- Grant Alday port network, green, land cover, (absence Advance Sea Lake Inc of) water. These maps will be attributed by the group with specific qualities that are Climate step changes and essential for a certain map/function. The what it means for Sea Lake maps are enriched with stories and facts. Prof Roger Jones Victoria University 0830 pm DESIGN SESSION 03: 30 YEARS AHEAD The Charrette process (what are we going to do?) How do we expect Sea Lake to have Rob Roggema developed in 2042. This session is to iden- Centre for Design, RMIT Uni tify the expectations, NOT the desires for versity the future (so, no wishful thinking!). We will address the same topics again: econ- omy, people, climate, technology and we 0630 pm DESIGN SESSION 01: will formulate and create a map how we 30 YEARS BACK expect Sea Lake to look like (new devel- opments?; growth?; changing land-use?). What was Sea Lake like in1982? We will discuss the following topics: The economy, 0930 pm FINISH DAY ONE the People, the Climate and Technology. Based on these topics, how did Sea Lake look like (where did people live, where DAY 02// 16 JUNE 2012/ SATURDAY 1030 am FLASH PRESENTATIONS 0330 pm QUICK SCAN APPRAISAL: WHAT IS GOOD ADAPTA - DESIGN THE FUTURE In short 5-min presentations each group TION? shares their goals The main question for day two will be: The plasticine models are appraised by “How do we want the future to be?” In 1100 am MORNING TEA the participants and judged where good design session four the goals are set, in and bad adaptation is proposed.