QUARANTINE I-V | POINT NEPEAN

RMIT | 2020-2023


‘QUARANTINE STUDIO speculated on the rebirth of regionalism by proposing new local tourism activations. The studio investigated the land, buildings, and structures in and around Melbourne’s original sanatorium, proposing new uses for the previously underutilized public land, landscape, and infrastructure.’

Situated at the end of the Mornington Peninsula in the Point Nepean National Park, Melbourne’s former Quarantine Station served as the fitting location for QUARANTINE STUDIO.

While the studio did not propose relocating modern-day quarantining back to the Peninsula, it questioned and proposed future uses for the largely abandoned buildings littered throughout the site.

Given Melbourne’s history of extended lockdowns, QUARANTINE STUDIO speculated on the rebirth of regionalism by proposing new local tourism activations. The studio investigated the land, buildings, and structures in and around Melbourne’s original sanatorium, proposing new uses for the previously underutilized public land, landscape, and infrastructure.

The Point Nepean National Park remained closed to the general public for years, and its long period of isolation resulted in the preservation and regeneration of a dramatic landscape.

Students researched the site’s history, ranging from Bunurong times and the sanatorium years—where ships plagued by illness were quarantined—to the construction of defense systems during the Gold Rush and the first shot of the First World War.

Stories of diseased early settlers, a litany of shipwrecks, and the drowning of Australia’s 17th Prime Minister, Harold Holt, were unpacked, researched, mapped, and recorded to uncover programmatic opportunities and inform proposals for the land and its existing structures.

The Point Nepean National Park remained closed to the general public for years, and its long period of isolation resulted in the preservation and regeneration of a dramatic landscape.

Students researched the site’s history, ranging from Bunurong times and the sanatorium years—where ships plagued by illness were quarantined—to the construction of defense systems during the Gold Rush and the first shot of the First World War.

Stories of diseased early settlers, a litany of shipwrecks, and the drowning of Australia’s 17th Prime Minister, Harold Holt, were unpacked, researched, mapped, and recorded to uncover programmatic opportunities and inform proposals for the land and its existing structures.

Participants reviewed the 2017 Master Plan commissioned by the State Government, questioned its content, and identified opportunities for new programs and subsequent architectural interventions.

Along with the site, the studio focused heavily on tectonics, materiality, and buildability. Active heritage conservation—rather than conservation for conservation’s sake—was the primary driver, with eco-tourism as the intended outcome.

  • RMIT MASTERS OF ARCHITECTURE STUDIO
    RMIT BACHELORS OF ARCHITECTURE STUDIO

  • COLLABORATOR | PROFESSOR N’ARWEE’T CAROLYN BRIGGS

    STUDIO LEADER | RODNEY EGGLESTON
    STUDIO LEADER | JULIAN CANTERBURY
    STUDIO LEADER | MATTHEW STANLEY

  • BUNURONG | POINT NEPEAN NATIONAL PARK

  • Michael Marchetti
    Angus Robson
    Ayana Lokhandwala
    Jeremy Hartman
    Alexander Barr
    Caigan Meade
    Blake Hillebrand
    Liming Liu
    Holly Simondson
    Montague Kemp
    Charles O’Brien
    Fergus Hayes-Sant
    Heinrich De Villiers
    Jack Seedsman
    Anastasios Perisanidis

  • Yasmeen O'Brien
    Taran Pierce
    Jiacan Tan
    Lucas Zephyr Cravino
    James Burton
    Jamie Bond
    Lucas Toppi
    Sofia Ramirez
    Haoliang Shen
    Tyler Feldman
    Kalapuge Don Jayathilake
    Zhuangyun Wang
    Stirling Clarke

  • Aidan Ross
    Lucy Read
    Hengjia Hu
    Qinze Wu
    Stella Northeast
    Eliza Grant
    Chen Xue
    Socheat Chea
    Lucas Schey
    Alexandra Breuer
    Jeremy Salter
    Jazmyn Scharl
    Daniel Phillips
    Susumu Inoue
    Piosha Balapitiya
    Alex Bentley

  • Yi Lou (Freddie)
    Taylor Ristevski
    Vibha Parulekar
    Jude Danta
    Sean Hodgson
    Yanlan Wu
    Santiago Borda Orellana
    Jacob Cavallaro
    Chen KeChao Tian

  • Nicholas Burgos
    Cara Banks
    Arman Azhigali
    Madeleine Macginley
    Aleksandar Naumoski
    Jose Tristan Borromeo
    Ines De Lecuona Gratacos
    Caterina Maria Reynes Munar
    Jeng You Chew
    Yongyan Jin
    Ruxin Wang
    Jingchen Lin
    Emma Goodieson
    Anna Polok

  • MASTERS OF ARCHITECTURE EXCELLENCE
    2023 S1 | SHORTLIST | CARA BANKS

    MASTERS OF ARCHITECTURE EXCELLENCE
    2022 S2 | WINNER | YANLAN WU

    MASTERS OF ARCHITECTURE EXCELLENCE
    2022 S1 | SHORTLIST | SANTIAGO BORDA

    BACHELOR OF ARCHITECTURE EXCELLENCE
    2021 S1 | WINNER | JAMIE BOND

    BACHELOR OF ARCHITECTURE EXCELLENCE
    2020 S2 | SHORTLIST | JACK SEEDSMAN