By: May Swan Chin SID:200490935Lani Westerman SID:305178164Dorinda AppiahSID: 305150863

E. Cultural Relations and Politics

Topic 14:Positive Multicultural Models

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

A positive multicultural model is one that celebrates and embraces a culture and its beliefs. It educates people from other backgrounds in a fun and interesting way about the ideals, traditions and spirituality of a culture. As architects, it is our job to create an appropriate environment where this can take place.

Multiculturalism Policy in Australia and Canada

  • Multiculturalism = public policy for managing cultural diversity in a multiethnic society.
  • Serves to preserve and emphasise the uniqueness of cultures rather than amalgamate them into one nationalist culture.
  • Government multicultural policies include funding for multicultural events and architecture that supports multicultural purposes.

Examples of positive multicultural models and manifestations of multiculturalism policies in Australia and Canada:

The NationalMuseum of Australia

  • Location:Canberra, ACT, Australia
  • Architects:Ashton McDougall & Robert Trethowan
  • Serves to end rifts which affect other major museums - that‘divorce’ Aboriginal man from European man and European man from Nature.
  • Situated on ActonPeninsula, prominent location = cultural precinct
  • Symbolic Elements:
  • Integration ofarchitecture and surrounding landscape = acknowledging Aborigines’ strong connected with land
  • Striking architecture, based on a theme of knotted ropes = bringing together Australian stories.
  • Orange ribbon = “Uluru Axis” because it aligns with the central Australia natural landmark + symbolically integrates the site withthe Canberra city plan +spiritual heart of indigenous Australia.
  • Design embodies the vitality of Australia + portraysrelationships of ancient and the new + integration of indigenous, colonial and migrant cultures.

The National Multicultural Festival

  • Location: Garema Place (Civic Centre),Canberra, ACT, Australia
  • Serves to celebrate and embracecultural diversity
  • Activities: song, dance, music, artwork, films and food – one huge exhibition
  • Festival reflects Australia’s multicultural policies

Brambuk Cultural Centre

  • Location: Halls Gap, Grampians National Park, Victoria
  • Architect: Gregory Burgess
  • Funded by VictorianState Government
  • Owned by 5 Aboriginal communities from South West Victoria and the Wimmera
  • Serves as a medium through which surrounding historical art and artefacts may be experienced and enjoyed + cultural information centre
  • Brambuk means cockatoo in Aboriginal language + bram stands for the heroic Aboriginal Bram-bram brothers + buk means to belong to = links architecture to culture
  • Symbolic elements include:
  • Mud-clay bricks = reminder of the Ebenezer Mission at Antwerp and the Goolum Goolum Community
  • Plan consisting of 5 interlocking circles = 5 Aboriginal community owners
  • Curved roof = wings of the sacred cockatoo or emperor moth
  • Ceiling = skeleton of sacred Southern Right Whale ( beam = backbone, rafters = ribs)
  • Ramp = totem eel/snake, ( totem to Aboriginal Elders)
  • Poles + high ceiling + lighting = forest, (Flamligham forest)
  • Stonework = houses and fish traps at LakeCondah
  • Fireplace = traditional Aboriginal shelter
  • Seat with arm rests = loving arms of Aboriginal creator spirit, Bunjil
  • Garden containing 6000 plant species = plants eaten and used by Aborigines in the area
  • Activities accommodated by the Architecture:
  • Cultural talks and multimedia presentation on Aboriginal creation stories
  • Dancing and Didgeridoo playing
  • Excursions to near by rock art
  • Bush tucker excursions and tastings
  • Boomerang demonstrations
  • Night time gatherings with story telling
  • Educational kits and holiday programmes
  • Quote:"…the Brambuk group stressed the need for a place for living culture rather than a museum of past culture... a place for gathering and creation in a real sense to engender pride in Aboriginality." Gregory Burgess

Three other Aboriginal Cultural Centres worth researching:

  • Uluru Cultural Centre, Northern Territory, Architect: Gregory Burgess
  • Bangerang Cultural Centre, Victoria,Architect: Frederick Romberg
  • KarijiniNational Park Visitors Centre, Western Australia, Architects: Woodhead International

Museum of Anthropology

  • Location:University of British Columbia, Canada.
  • Architect:Arthur Erickson
  • Landscape Architect: Kenneth Morris
  • Serves to complement and accommodate the artefacts of the Pacific Northwest Native cultures
  • Quote: “…it is only through architecture that I can comprehend a culture.”Erickson
  • Symbolic Elements:

Building + immediate surroundings represent traditional Northwest Coast Indian village:

  • Situated parallel to the shore and orientated towards the sea.
  • Authentic totem poles located outside.
  • Artificial body of water creates a visual link between the museum and distant view of the ocean.

Post and beam entrance reflects native NorthwestCoast architecture:

  • Post and beams often used to portray ‘sisutl’ – a mythological dragon-like creature that symbolised the possibility of human access into other worlds.
  • The post and beam motif with carvings continued inside - creates environment of a British Columbia forest.
  • Totem poles = trees of life and symbols of earthly transcendence.
  • Arching skylights = dappled sunlight of forests.

Glass walls link the building to the outside world:

  • Provide uninterrupted view of the natural settings
  • Provide natural light.
  • No visual boundary between interior and outside or even worlds beyond, feeding into the spiritual beliefs of the Northwest native Indians.
  • Transparent display cases do not detract from contents.
  • All collected artefacts (good, band and fragmented),available to public in visual storage area along with paper–based reference materials = library environment + objective learning centre

Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre

  • Location: Toronto, Canada.
  • Architects: Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg.
  • Symbolic Elements:
  • Translucent acrylic and steel towerinspired by a Japanese lantern - gives site distinct identity particularly when illuminated.
  • Wood screens echo traditional Japanese shoji screens.
  • Quote:“The design balances a cultural identity for Japanese Canadians with an open-ended, abstract concept.” Bruce Kuwabara

Lessons learnt from research

  • A positive multicultural space is one that visually and symbolically represents a culture through design principles.
  • The building must accommodate for other cultural activities.
  • Knowledge about the history of the site, the identity and customs of the client is essential to good design.
  • A country with strong positive multicultural policies enables such cultural centres to exist.

SOURCES

•Erickson, A. (1988.) The Architecture of Arthur Erickson.Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre Ltd.

•Fantin, S. (2003.) Aboriginal Identities in Architecture. Architecture Australia. vol 92, no. 5,

September/October, p84-87.

•NationalMuseum of Australia. (1999). A Museum for the New Millennium.Canberra: NationalMuseum of

Australia.

•National Capital Development Commission. (1984). Selection of a site for the Museum of Australia.Canberra:

NationalMuseum of Australia.

•Vastokas, J. (1976.) Architecture as cultural expression. Artscanada, October/November, No 208, p 1-15.

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