Borderlands

A boundary line is defined as confining a whole urbanised area and is used by local governments as a guide for zoning and land occupation. It marks the place where a suburb ends and another territory begins; until a wall or fence is erected, they are invisible.

This proposition questions the legibility of the boundary line. Can we visualise these fringes and experience it at a personal scale? Located on the corner of 334 – 336 Bell and Sussex Street, the project site occupies a Hungry Jack’s and a Shell Service Station. Both hold a different postcode despite being on the same block, one being Pascoe Vale and the other being Coburg respectively.

This uncommon urban phenomenon led the project to question the possibilities of capitalising on the behaviours found in plants to overwrite the existing planning logic of the boundary. Borderlands is a multi-functional rest stop that attempts at stitching two suburbs undefined boundaries. It performs as a prototype of urban infill, and acts as an architectural instrument of access to unlock the cultural identity of the suburb.