The 3rd Space: Indigenous communities teaching landscape architecture

The Indigenous Design Studio Unit is collaboratively taught by UWA's School of Architecture and Fine Arts, Centre for Aboriginal Programmes and various Indigenous Communities across the state. The unit has focussed on 'inclusiveness, service learning, and participatory action' as pedagogics in design education.

The discipline and profession of landscape architecture has an inextricable responsibility with the sustainable design and management of environments and countries that respect the reciprocal relationship between environment and social health. The studio exposes Western design students to Aboriginal people and Aboriginal country. The reciprocal relationships are built around mutual respect, and by working and being together in a committed and fun based teaching and learning environment.

The value of this service teaching model, for both indigenous and non-indigenous peoples in the teaching, research, community service relationship is that it allows us to appreciate an awareness of the complexities of life, culture and politics in Australian communities - with a particular affirmative presence on remote Aboriginal settlements.

The studio's results are often varied, with success often being measured as much in educational, social and community health terms, as in environmental planning and design outcomes. Most students find the studio experience extremely difficult. It is often loaded with grief and trauma, and these difficulties are managed carefully. Some say the studio has changed their lives. Some say it is just too difficult.

Reflection on the service teaching and learning modes and processes are continually asked of the design teams - in and out of the classroom, both formally and informally. How do we, for example, grade individual students for university assessment purposes when one of the key educational aims of the design studio is to "learn to share responsibilities, rewards and disappointments ... [to] shed the need for recognition of individual success"? The studio does a lot of things - but importantly it respects the wishes of young Western Australian designers who want to let go and imagine themselves in another time, another place, beyond such a hard-wired European acculturation.