2023 ArchitectureAU Award for Social Impact: Joint winner

Jury citation

The success of the Groote Archipelago Housing Programme, on Groote Eylandt in the Gulf of Carpentaria, is fundamentally the result of the architectural team’s openness to shift from a traditional approach to a new way of thinking and working. The Fulcrum Agency and the Anindilyakwa community have forged an extraordinary and mutually beneficial partnership over the last eight years to provide new and refurbished houses that are simply the “visible elements” of the broader project. As the architect notes, this project is not just co-designed, but co-produced. By working with the Anindilyakwa community over a prolonged period, the team was able to build design literacy, enabling the community’s genuine contribution to the architectural process at each stage of the project.

Clear diagrams by The Fulcrum Agency articulate cultural obligations and demonstrate how avoidance protocols can affect occupants’ ability to manage and control their housing environments. Flexibility built into the design will allow occupants to modify the houses to suit varying needs without impacting the buildings’ environmental performance. The built forms of the houses are modest, but deep thinking underlies every planning decision, making the homes highly functional and adaptable.

The Groote Archipelago Housing Programme is an outstanding exemplar of how change can be made by rethinking preconceived notions of how something “should” be done. Tangible social impact is clearly evident in the benefits of the built outcome for the community, but the project also reminds us of the power of relationships and the immense value of sharing knowledge.

The ArchitectureAU Award for Social Impact is organized by Architecture Media, publisher of ArchitectureAU.com, and presented in partnership with the Melbourne School of Design and supported by Latitude, Peptolab, and NHO.