Alison Dane
Bachelor of Environments: Architecture

I chose the Bachelor of Environments because I have a strong passion for design and I knew that the Environments course would help me chose which way I could develop these skills.

I decided to major in Architecture because I love the freedom that the design studies gave me. I also wanted to enhance the lives of building occupants through sustainable design.

My favourite subjects were all of the design studies! Each semester I was challenged to reach a design outcome that I never thought I could. The studios helped develop my presentation, modelling and technical skills very quickly. For me, each studio was a journey, full of surprises and personal development.

To me studying at the University of Melbourne meant giving myself the best opportunity to succeed, and be happy in my future career.

My advice to new students is don’t worry if you can’t decide on your career goals as soon as you leave school. The environments course will give you the flexibility and choice you need to choose your passion when you are ready.

I am looking forward to contributing to a sustainable future for Australia, by becoming and ESD consultant.

The BEnvs helped me prepare for making the correct career choice for me, after having a well grounded, but highly varied undergraduate education.

Five words that sum me up are: Enthusiastic, clumsy, hard working, happy.

My personal motto is… never give up!

ALISON IS NOW DOING GRADUATE STUDY

I chose to do study a Master of Environmental Engineering because I wanted to pursue my passion for sustainable design that I developed throughout my undergraduate degree

It’s different studying at graduate level because more time is available to develop and reflect upon the concepts taught. There is also much more of a focus upon your career goals.

In my Masters I am looking forward to obtaining an internship or vacation employment, to put the skills I have developed throughout university into practice.

What inspires you at Uni? Academic success and the support of my friends.

DESIGN STATEMENT

The theatre, a place for entertainment, creativity, and movement. ‘The Doll’ theatre, expresses the flux of live performance within its facade, through dynamic interacting forms. The theatricality of the building is captured within the projecting roof, housing the tall space and services, as well as the inverted verandah, which thrusts toward the intersection.

The facade and roof forms are inspired by the sawing flight of an eagle, representative of Olive’s description of Barney and Roo, as ‘two eagles that fly down each year for the mating season.’

However this majestic facade of masculine dominance is short lived, as we see even the powerful Roo cannot escape the grasp of time, as he realises his middle age has caught up with him, causing the yearly, ‘migration,’ to cease. The three floors are lit by a light reflecting sculpture, allowing sunlight to exude into the depths of the building. The sculpture consists of two intertwining, ‘branches,’ emulating the dance of love that Olive and Roo take part in, throughout the play. The reflective form encourages interaction as it forms seating, as well as a visual connection between the ad ministerial and public levels. The faceted forms, clad in mirrors also cause the patrons to experience seeing themselves from different, or uncomfortable angles, just as Emma tells Roo to, ‘take a look in the mirror,’ realising the painful reality of his life, that youth has escaped him.

Just as we begin to see both Roo and Olive’s secret vulnerability, so too does the foyer expose the services, to show how the audience is the voyeur into these characters’ private lives. The Southern facade appears to project upwards from the ground adjacent to the neighbouring dwelling, just as the themes of ‘Summer of the Seventeenth Doll,’ are rooted within residential Carlton.

The Eastern Facade has no windows due to the need for a fire rated wall, however glass bricks let in some light. The wall is partially clad externally in timber panels which appear to project up from the ground, breaking down the weight of such a large wall adjacent to a residential dwelling. These forms can also be seen from the street, creating interest and dynamism to an otherwise flat wall.

The cafe counter, like the entrance walkway and proscenium arch, are clad in a pattern inspire by wild ferns. This concept of a delicate but chaotic ecosystem is reminiscent of the characters’ overzealous but vulnerable romantic relationships. Moreover, the fern frond had been abstracted to appear like iron work, as is prominent within the street scape.

The chaotic flux of the auditorium ceiling, not only portrays the fluctuating relationship of Roo and Olive, but also the emotions of the characters about their own identity. The Foyer contains exposed services, showing aspects of a building that would otherwise be concealed, displaying the raw qualities and vulnerable aesthetic of the interior. This is then, ‘decorated,’ with the fern like patterns, just as Olive decorates the living room in fantastical things such as the dolls and butterflies to hide from the grim reality of her crumbling relationship and fantasy world.