Tjuntjuntjara Community Center

For the first project in Studio 2, I was assigned a random place around world to study and design a community center. My site was the remote Aboriginal town of Tjuntjuntjara in Australia's Victorian Desert. I researched climate, sun, culture, activities, history, vernacular architecture, and more. I designed my building based on what I learned about the Wiltja, the hut the Spinifex people would build while travelling the desert. The community center uses the Spinifex religion and beliefs of walking paths in the desert to create an intersecting space that facilitates the sharing of culture and knowledge. There are places for teaching survival skills, telling stories, cooking food, hosting ceremonies, and displaying artwork. This all ties to the core values of Tjukurpa, which dictates their ways of life.