Abstract:
This paper retrospectively examines an approach to consultative and culturally
inclusive design developed in practice by a team of landscape architects,
engineers and cultural planners, in association with community artists in Fairfield,
Sydney. (1) The paper discusses, as a case study, the rehabilitation of Bareena
Park in Canley Vale, one of the projects undertaken by this team. The approach
that these built environment professionals collaboratively developed, and
subsequently employed at Bareena Park, seeks to attend to the voices and views
of culturally diverse stakeholders in a design, by creating non-threatening forums
within which they can speak, and within which they can directly impact upon
design decisions. The paper asks: "Is this an exemplar of a hermeneutic
approach to design?"
