FSC - How the Building Grows
Albert Einstein once said, “Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you anywhere”…
The creation of the First Steps Count building was driven by imagination….The key players in this project could have created a building, that was solid and fit for purpose.
But they dared to dream greater than just good.
They dreamed a living building.
A building that connects its occupants with the light, air, food, nature, and the community around it.
A building that is self-sufficient and uses the resources of the site.
A building that has a positive impact on the humans and the environment it sits within.
The imagination that drives this project also comes with a whole lot of focus, passion, commitment,
and hard work too!
Here are some more stories of the “Many Hands’ who bought the artforms to life in this building using the resources of the site…
While Stage 1 involved families creating artworks at the Gallery to inspire the design for the building….
Wood-fire potter Steve Williams was working onsite with a team from Out(fit) to take impressions from natural materials that could be used as a creative component within the building.
Out(fit) is community engagement initiative from the School of Architecture at the University of Newcastle to improve equity, diversity, and inclusion outcomes for women in the built environment. The program provides volunteers an opportunity to develop, practice and showcase their skills while engaging in projects that make a real difference.
Steve created some fascinating tile forms onsite by pouring concrete onto the impressions left by natural materials like sticks and pods that had been embedded into the exposed clay surface of the ground.
This investigation was put on hold until Stage 2 of the build where FSC could secure funding for Steve to investigate this process further.
I cannot share the story of the artwork in the building without sharing the design genius behind…
The yarning circle (created by Outfit and informed by the FSC Yarnin Circle Group made up of local Indigenous women working for community)
The river and the trees (designed and constructed by Walter and his team)
The rain gauge (designed by Russell)…
Out(fit) worked with the youth from Chatham High School to create the yarning circle: a place where people can come together to share stories and knowledge.
The placement of waste materials from the build such as bricks and concrete forms has been artfully arranged within the curved gabion baskets to create the seating area….their attention to detail is just incredible.
Trees as a design element…
Its never easy to cut down a tree… we are inexplicably drawn to them, somewhere deep inside we know that our physical and emotional needs are intimately and holistically linked to the delicate health of our environment.
In our sometimes stress filled, chaotic lives, trees stand as graceful portraits of stability, flexibility, and inspire us to embrace life’s challenges with serenity and composure.
In a ‘biophilic’ approach, instead of using traditional poles and colourbond fencing, Walter used the existing trees from site to hold up the roof, collect water, house lighting, contain the play area and provide spaces for little bodies to climb through and sit under.
And… you can’t create a building in Taree without honouring the life force of the town….. the beautiful Manning River. If you have had the opportunity to visit the centre you will see a river created from concrete, embedded with glass chips and river rocks connects the the 2 spaces….all due to the artful touch of Walter and his team.
Meanwhile off site at Walter’s shed the simplified organic shapes created by the families were drawn onto ply and cut with the help of little Archie who arranged them beautifully to show us how they might look on the wall.
A huge thank you to Rod and Jill Illidge for donating their ply dance floor to be cut, crafted and re-imagined as stylised forms for the walls.
And I would like to share and say a heartfelt thanks to John and David and the team at Old Bar Men’s Shed who sanded all the ply shapes (even though there were 3 times as many shapes as I originally told them).
And finally…the arts component of this project was made possible by a grant received by FSC from the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal (FRRR}…. Thank you! As you can see, we have put those funds to good use!
Thank you for sharing the journey… the next blog will be out soon and is titled ‘Weaving the Wisdom of Women’ and shares the story of the fabulous weaving in the building created by many strong women.
Thank you for sharing journey… the next chapter of the development of the artwork for Stage 1 of the First Steps Count Building is shared in Blog 3 FSC - Weaving the Wisdom of Women
Ali Haigh x
