This is a project carried out at RMIT University’s school of Architecture and Design as a design studio for architecture students in third and fourth year. The project was done in conjunction with the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, the architectural practice Antarctica, and follows a broader study of design in general medicine which resulted in the publication Rebirth of a Clinic.
The research asked `what role could architecture play in the health outcomes of aboriginal communities in Australia?’ The project took ten students along with Brendan Jones (RMIT) and Ian Watts (RACGP) to Ampilatwatja, a community of 400 people located 320 kilometers north east of Alice Springs in central Australia. There they designed a new health centre for the town. The aim of this project from a medical perspective was to address chronic health issues in this and other aboriginal communities. Closing the gap refers to the seventeen year difference in life expectancy for black and white Australian men.
From an architectural perspective, these questions were confronted through the design act, through negotiating the great sensitivities of a community in the planning of a building. This building of roughly 700 square metres is one of three public buildings (along with the shop and the town offices) which are key gathering places.