As part of our ongoing engagement with Monash University, we ran an urban design studio with architect Ellen Kwek, where architecture students were invited to respond to a real-world brief for Hobart’s In The Hanging Garden precinct. Students used an entire city block in Nipaluna/Hobart as a laboratory for experimentation and innovation.

The results were thoughtful, bold and full of energy — with surprising parallels to our own precinct design thinking in creating vibrancy and engagement. The work was exhibited in true Dark Mofo spirit — installed in the infamous festival bathrooms.

The ‘Hanging Gardens’ precinct—a mixed-use cultural zone focused on music, entertainment, and hospitality—offers a unique case study in urban activation. While it thrives during the annual Dark Mofo festival, the challenge is ensuring it remains a precinct for locals, deeply connected to Hobart’s identity, all year round.

Students developed both large-scale strategies and finely tuned interventions, considering new buildings, adaptive reuse, and the fine balance between cultural preservation and renewal.

Relating real-world projects to real-world thinking—and seeing how different students engage with different urban challenges—has been invaluable to our studios.

Urban Design Studio Photography by Six Degrees
Image 1: Simon Hong
Image 2: Desmond Li
Image 3: Stefanie Kyricou
Image 4: Byron Jones-Kelly
Image 5: Gia Pham
Image 6: Karin Yankelov
Image 7: Nicholas Ong