Redfern Legal Centre (RLC) is a not-for-profit community legal centre that provides community legal services and access to justice for local residents as well as state-wide.. RLC approached us to help improve their teams work space of their head office within Redfern Town Hall. RLC currently occupies the ground floor of Redfern Town Hall, where they have access to small rooms as well as a large hall space, the Baya Room. The Baya Room comprises almost half the total floor space that RLC occupies, however, as one large open space, the RLC team has faced many challenges in utilising the space effectively.
Through an Understanding Needs workshop with the RLC team, we were able to understand that the space is very underutilised, with half of team members using the space for 1 day or less in a typical week. The team cited acoustics as the major issues, as the space is often occupied by teams running group clinic sessions. Without proper design and acoustic mitigation, it makes it impossible for other team members to use the space at the same time is clinic is being run.
The team also wanted the space to be more tailored to the every day activities of their work, provide more privacy for confidential phone calls, as well as celebrate RLC's long history and accomplishments, they wanted the space to feel like their own.
Being based in Redfern, a large proportion of their clients are Aboriginal or First Nations background, and it was identified that the colonial style design of the Town Hall does not reflect the clients and staff of RLC. They wished to incorporate more First Nations and Aboriginal artwork to "decolonise" the space.
In addition to the RLC teams needs, practically, the design also had to minimise the impact on the heritage-listed building of Redfern Town Hall. The final design will be challenged by meeting the needs of the RLC team, while being feasible to build in practical terms.
The design for the Baya Room was developed in close collaboration with RLC team, not only to meet their operational needs, but also to celebrate the unique culture & identity of the Redfern Legal Centre team. By carefully partitioning the large hall space, we were able to accommodate multiple smaller meeting spaces that were visually & acoustically treated to allow for multiple teams to use the space at the same time. The light touch approach, using a freestanding timber frame element, we were able to minimise the impact on the heritage fabric of the Redfern Town Hall.
The design & colour palette celebrates RLC's brand and identity, while the gallery space displays letters, artworks & memorabilia from RLC's years of work and assistance to the local community. By integrating First Nations art & symbols into the space, we intend to create a more welcoming environment for local Aboriginal community members as well as decolonising the Colonial style Redfern Town Hall.
Want to learn more about our design process for this project? Click on the Pitch Deck below.
We specialise in developing creative and innovative design solutions to Social Issues across multiple design disciplines. By providing the design tools to the people most impacted by Social Issues, they can lead us to the best solutions.
A new space for collaboration, celebration & decolonisation for the Redfern Legal Centre team
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