An exhibition and online auction seeks to raise funds to a new innovative organization aimed at creating better housing for remote Indigenous communities in the Northern Territory.
The Wilya Janta Housing Collaboration is an organization led by Warumunga elder Norman Frank Jupurrurla, a resident of Tennant Creek, and medical doctor Simon Quilty.
The exhibition Papulu-ku Nyinjjiki (seeing houses), hosted by Office at its Melbourne studio, includes works from artists from Tennant Creek Brio art collective as well as photographs, drawings and architectural models from Wilya Janta.
The works will be auctioned online, and the proceeds will contribute to the construction of a demonstration house, which will be home to Norman Frank Jupurrurla and Serena Morton Napanangka.
Wilya Janta Housing Collaboration.
Image:
Courtesy Office
“Facilitated by Office and Troppo Architects, the design has evolved over the last year through ongoing conversations about how they currently live and would like to in the future,” said Simon Robinson, director of Office. “This is something no one has ever asked them nor any other Aboriginal person in Tennant Creek.
“The home is Norman and Serena’s design, it is unique and responds to how they want to live. It is also a demonstration home for the process that will be undertaken by Wilya Janta for other Aboriginal people. A process of listening and respect, asking them how they would like their own home to be.”
One of the key challenges for the housing in remote Northern Territory is the extreme climate. Government-provided housing is often poorly designed, with little to no insulation, forcing residents to rely on electrically powered heating and cooling. Residents of remote communites access electricity on a prepaid system, and can experience disconnection when the credit runs out.
A study in 2021, co-authored by Norman Frank Jupurrurla and Simon Quilty, found that 91 percent of households using prepaid electrictiy have experienced diconnection and that they were more likely experience disconnection on very hot or very cold days.
The co-designed housing also consider cultural practices, such as bedrooms that allow residents to sleep east to west, and separated bathrooms that adhere to kinship avoidance practices.
Wilya Janta also seeking philanthropic support. The online auction closes on 15 October.
Source: Architecture - architectureau
