St Joseph’s College students had an insight into the future of Geelong as a city from Deakin’s School of Architecture and Built Environment academics and researchers. Around 40 year 10 students were selected to attend the Built Environment Careers Workshops based on their interests in Architecture, Design or Construction. Some of the workshop discussions with students addressed future challenges such as density, climate change, and urban mobility; what outcomes do the students want to propose for Geelong’s future?
Using Lego as the building block for invention, students began by creating a new building within a selected part of Geelong. The students were uninhibited from typical constraints and proposed buildings that told tales of past conflicts, sea walls to hold back rising waters, landing pads for drones, tall perches for birdlife, and more.
Alongside the model building process, students had the opportunity to see a virtual reality interpretation of Geelong in 2100. The virtual experience would twist and weave through pockets of Geelong, showing retained heritage and imagined buildings addressing potential future uses all at once.
By the end of the workshop, students could identify some of the future challenges to our built and natural environment. They were able to begin to think about how Geelong might look up to the year 2100, and they were able to engage with the A+B team about what an education in the built environment discipline might offer their futures.
