SQUARE ONE | A CITY WITH A CITY
Bachelor of Design - Architecture Studio 6 | Year 3, Semester 2, 2021
SITE: BHP Steelworks
The Mayfield North site, located on Awabakal land, was the former Broken Hill Proprietary Company Limited (BHP) Steelworks site before its closure in 1999. The site is one of historical significance to both Newcastle and greater Australia as it was home to one of Australia’s biggest companies, producing our biggest exports and in the 1920s was the largest producer of steel and iron ore in the Southern Hemisphere. The steelworks opened in 1915, having originally been located in Broken Hill where the company was founded. The key significant buildings that remain on site are the Administration Building and The Rolling Shed. The site is prone to flooding and has recently undergone remediation. These have been considered in the design of the site.
INDIVIDUAL STATEMENT
Square One is designed to minimize the current gap in the market which sees people who are looking for longer than short-term accommodation but cannot afford the stability of home ownership and therefore forced to stay in the rental market. The demographics of the 3000 residents is anyone from students who want to live in a share house, to multi-generational families, single-parent families and retirees. The architecture has been designed so that there are both private, communal and public spaces throughout each of the buildings as well as across the entire precinct. Each of the private dwellings cater for each of the demographics yet they can still be easily adaptable and flexible. The communal and public spaces will allow for the residents to gather and come together. The precinct will have all the required resources and essentials a normal city would have. This will achieve a city within a city that is affordable without it lacking any of the amenities or conveniences of a bigger city.
