EuryModal Studio, RMIT 2012 

EuryModal is a lower pool RMIT Landscape Architecture studio that investigates the future of our public domain through scenario mapping, outdoor projections and other in-situ interventions.

If we were to describe ourselves as Eury-Modal (Eury meaning ‘broad’ and Modal pertaining to a mode of existence) this would imply an ability for people to be able to exist in a broad range of environments.

Climate change and social upheaval often means we have to change our living circumstances rapidly to respond. Our urban landscapes also have to adapt quickly, coping with changes in sea level, increased inhabitation, access to resources and changes to infrastructure. There are many possible scenarios that could induce the need for rapid adaptation. This studio aims to explore some of those scenarios and test them in an urban environment that is particularly susceptible to change.

The inner urban suburb of Port Melbourne is prone to a range of external influences including possible sea level rise, increasing urban density, changes in land-use and infrastructure. A range of scenarios will be tested at various sites within Port Melbourne using animated modeling techniques and on-site installations.

What are some of the tools and technologies we can use to adapt to rapidly changing living circumstances? This studio will look towards simple low-cost technologies, mobile and emergency architectures as well as planning for future proofing.

A projection exploration was conducted at the RMIT city campus in collaboration with Joseph Norster from These Are The Projects We Do Together, the students tested their future scenarios in a real-time, real-space environment.