An introduction to architecture and building traditions: Lessons from ethno-architects

This paper offers an introduction and overview of the papers presented to the ADDITIONS conference under the theme "Architecture + Building Traditions". These papers are specifically oriented toward scholars of Pacific rim Indigenous cultures and their vernacular building traditions, in order that a debate might arise regarding the human values of these traditions and what they represent by way of contrast to Western constructs of architecture. A general sub-theme running through this collection of papers is how a theoretical framework of "architecture" might be configured, which would serve as a cross-cultural tool to understanding the nature of constructed and composed environments used as human habitats across all cultural contexts. An extension of this question would be why the Western concept of "architecture" has so far not achieved such a unifying position, at times excluding non-Western and Indigenous building traditions. This new construct of architecture cannot be dominated by period aesthetics or popular Eurocentric philosophies, but must be useful for both theoretical and practical application to the settlements of the non-European and Indigenous cultures of the world, as well as to Western environments

ON GENERATING CULTURALLY SUSTAINABLE ENTERPRISES AND DEMAND-RESPONSIVE SERVICES IN REMOTE ABORIGINAL SETTINGS: A CASE STUDY FROM NORTH-WEST QUEENSLAND

The catalyst for this paper was the continuation of poor national outcomes in Aboriginal employment and quality of lifestyle, despite 35 years of sustained gover-nment service delivery. The persistence of Aboriginal identities and cultures, albeit in transformed states, is a dominant continuity despite the pulses and shifts of policies. Nevertheless, debate has recently embraced whether Aboriginal people can participate in the market economy and yet still retain traditional culture (Sarra 2009), and whether retention of traditional culture has contributed inadvertently to community dysfunction (Altman 2009;Sutton 2009). The paper explores a case study of remote Aboriginal cultural and socioeconomic empowerment situated within the fields of both mainstream economy and service delivery in the Myuma Group. From the research, there is a range of significant good-practice strategies and methods underpinning Myuma’s success. In historical order, the first was the use of a native title claim from which to obtain an initial set of economic assets (infra structure, contracts). A second strategy was an inclusive (rather than exclusive) approach to spreading the enterprise benefits created by a small Indjilandji extended family group to a regional bloc of multiple language groups and to other beneficiaries in the wider community. This enabled the Myuma Group to project itself as a benefactor for the regional Aboriginal population (not simply as a nepotistic family-based firm) an image that was essential to attract strong government support and local and regional legitimacy

Lardil properties of place : an ethnological study in man-environment relations

This study commences with a discussion on the nature of 'place' making reference to the limited scientific literature on the subject (Chapter 1). An initial model of place is established, being the association of a piece of environment with human behaviour, concepts and artifacts, as well as involving such properties as boundary definitions, rules controlling access and time of use, systems of naming and classification, and psychological complexes of memories and emotional attachments. This model is used throughout the -thesis to identify and analyse the place constructs of the Lardil people, a tribe of Australian Aborigines inhabiting Mornington Island and some other islands of the North Wellesley group in the southern Gulf of Carpentaria. After examining the methods of data collection used in the research (Chapter 2), the physical environment of Mornington Island is briefly described - climate, geomorphology, soils and plants (Chapter 3). A land systems model is constructed to which is correlated patterns of the people-environment relations of the traditional hunter-gatherer life (at c.1910). Ethnic models of environmental knowledge that have been elicited from Aboriginal informants include geography, social organisation and land tenure, seasonal movement and resource exploitation, construction of shelters, and use of places such as camps, graves, sacred sites, resource places, dancing and initiation grounds (Chapter 4). The Lardil cosmology and cosmogony is outlined in Chapter 5. Here, certain properties of place are shown to form part of a set of mental constructs that were the basis of a sacred philosophy concerning Aboriginal man and his relation to the world. The Lardil call this philosophy 'the law'. Amongst other things, the law provides an explanation of the origin of Aboriginal man and his landscape. It also explains how the natural environment is inhabited by invisible animate beings whose actions are causally interrelated with those of humans. It demonstrates the necessity for the Lardil people to observe certain behavioural rules whilst using their environment in order to maintain an overall harmony between themselves and its invisible inhabitants. (11) The next Chapter contains an historical dissertation on the culture contact between the Aborigines and people of Asian and European origin. It traces the contact period from prior to the arrival of the first missionaries (1914) up until 1975 (Chapter 6). A model of cultural change is constructed to assist in understanding the changing uses of place during this period. This model is then used in Chapter 7 to explain the origin of the places that were used by the -Mornington Island people in 1975. This chapter deals largely with the mission settlement in which the majority of people today live as a concentrated population with access to Western housing and community services. The continuity of traditional man-environment systems over 60 years is examined, as well as the introduction of new systems by the missionaries, e.g. new social institutions, physical structures, economic resources, behaviour controls, local travel patterns. An account of contemporary travel to settlements, towns and cities on the mainland brings the ethnography to a close. The conclusion (Chapter 8) deals with the elaboration of the initial model of place based on the ethnographic evidence of the previous chapters. The model is examined with the focus on cross- cultural differences. Aboriginality at place is distinguished from acculturated Western attributes. The role of place in the maintenance of cultural identity is discussed and finally, Lardil places are shown to be capable of being described using a structuralist type analysis

The Case for Single Cells and Alternative Ways of viewing

Until recently there was an assumption that Australian Aboriginal prisoners should be accommodated in dual occupancy or dormitory accommodation while in custody to best meet cultural needs, primarily to prevent social isolation. This historical assumption is reflected in the national guidelines for prison accommodation, various coronial and royal commission recommendations for both police and prison accommodation and evolved from the problem-solving approaches to the custodial arrangements of Australian Aboriginal peoples instituted by custodial agencies and stakeholder consultations with Aboriginal groups. This paper presents the findings from the first empirical study of the needs and preferences of Australian Aboriginal prisoners in custody. It suggests that certain types of shared and dormitory accommodation present a myriad of complex implications for Aboriginal prisoners. Such accommodation may not be the most favourable or preferred model for such individuals. And may, in fact, be a simulacrum in meeting the needs of Aboriginal prisoners for living as a social group. The paper presents new understandings and a number of socio-cultural options for viewing custodial accommodation that have significance to prisoner outcomes at various end-points in the criminal justice system

Marine tenure in the Wellesley Islands region, Gulf of Carpentaria

Tese de mestradoÉ consensual que as áreas costeiras são consideradas territórios de elevada importância estratégica em termos ambientais, económicos e sociais. Do mesmo modo são também reconhecidos os seus problemas e ameaças. A crescente pressão demográfica e concentração de atividades nestes espaços, cria problemas e conflitos de difícil solução, e ameaça destruir o seu delicado equilíbrio. A artificialização, associada a uma rápida expansão da indústria e do turismo nas regiões do litoral, particularmente intensa nos países desenvolvidos e nos países emergentes com alta taxa de crescimento, provoca uma inquietação generalizada sobre a sustentabilidade destas áreas. A necessidade de ordenar os usos e atividades neste espaço, conduziu ao aparecimento de sucessivos instrumentos legais, estratégias e planos de ação, numa grande diversidade e frequente desarticulação de políticas e de intervenções. Reconhece-se atualmente que os sistemas litorais são demasiado complexos para serem geridos por meio de políticas sectoriais, pelo que uma gestão integrada destes espaços afigura-se como a melhor forma para compatibilização de fatores e interesses divergentes. Trata-se de um processo flexível de gestão que visa o desenvolvimento sustentável destas regiões, e este exige que os recursos do litoral sejam salvaguardados em quantidade e qualidade, de modo a satisfazer as necessidades atuais sem pôr em causa o seu usufruto pelas gerações vindouras. Em Portugal o ordenamento e a gestão destas áreas assentam num conjunto de instrumentos e programas de natureza vinculativa ou orientadora que têm como objetivo estabelecer as regras a que deve obedecer a ocupação, uso e transformações dos solos. Este trabalho propõe como problemática central perceber a forma como se processou a ocupação da orla costeira, no caso particular de São Martinho do Porto, as potencialidades, os problemas e ameaças que sobre ela pendem, e o impacto que as políticas e instrumentos de gestão tiveram no rumo que essa ocupação seguiu