The design of a new pedestrian and cycle bridge, linking the Perth CBD across the Swan River to Heirisson Island, was truly elevated once Indigenous knowledge was introduced.
Located in Whadjuk Noongar country, in central Perth, Heirisson Island has always held a significant cultural and spiritual place among the Traditional Custodians of the land.
When a new pedestrian and cycle bridge was proposed to complement the existing road bridge from the island to the CBD, input from the Whadjuk Noongar people during the co-design process turned it into a project celebrated and owned by all Western Australians.
“This project was Aboriginal-led, community-involved and appropriately designed,” Budawang man Michael Hromek, Technical Executive of Indigenous Design (Architecture) at WSP Australia, told create. “These are three key things any project should have to lead to a great outcome.”
The region, Hromek said, is linked to stories of an important warrior known as Yagan, as well as Fanny Balbuk, a defender of the island.
“Those two stories became very important. Through several early iterations, their stories remained. Then we began thinking about tools that represent their stories. Yagan would use a boomerang and Fanny would use a digging stick.”
Renders and final design of the structure, now known as Boorloo Bridge, incorporated clear representations of a boomerang and digging stick. Rather than a cookie-cutter footbridge, Perth has ended up with a timeless representation of resilience and leadership, of history and memory, all deeply connected to the Whadjuk Noongar stories of Yagan and Fanny.
What does co-design look like?
The process of consultation and co-design wasn’t fast and nor was it simple, Hromek said.
“We started with basic conversations, then moved into deeper engagement and then began filtering the information. We engaged with relevant Aboriginal groups, elders and artists early and often.”
These meetings took the form of anything from yarns during walks around the relevant places, to co-design workshops where designs are laid out on tables and notes taken on those designs with pencils and pens.
“In some co-design sessions, after I did some drawings and mapping we stuck them on the wall and invited relevant parties in,” Hromek said. “Once, for example, I was talking through the designs with two Elders and a Dutch bridge designer.”
“It was old-school. We had sticky notes and pens, and we made it easy for them to come in, and we had a feed ready for them. So they weren’t hungry or angry, just happy to share their input.”
This level of simplicity is vital for success. If Hromek had shown them 3D digital renders on a computer screen or handed out augmented reality headsets for a walk-through, it’s likely the reactions would have been less positive.
For all of its efficiencies and benefits, technology can take away from the experience of human connection.
“The integrity of design stayed all the way through the early-option study,” Hromek said. “Because we did those drawings, and the elders loved it and endorsed it, it gave the politicians in the area confidence. They got behind it and announced it, and suddenly $50 million came out of nowhere.”
Indigenous ideas are the spearhead
In the early design stages of a project, it’s easy to be overwhelmed by the endless options. One of the great values of a cohesive Indigenous co-design, Hromek said, is the fact that it can act as a spearhead, cutting through the other ideas and therefore reducing wasted time.
Indigenous co-design introduces focus and efficiency – the boomerang, the digging stick, the S-shaped curves to represent the rainbow serpent.
“The design could have just been a low structure and not celebratory. To be celebratory, that determined a suspension-cable bridge. So we didn’t need three iterations of three different types of bridges.
“There was a single idea to go ahead with and to sell on. Our project represents water and people. That led the design process. The Indigenous design aspect made it very clear to everybody.”
Sometimes, such clarity comes with a sigh of relief, Hromek said.
“We’re not asking engineers or architects or other designers to develop their own meaning in design. The hard work has already been done, and in the most meaningful way possible. It gives designers a clear theme to develop.”
From a meaningful base
In introducing such design efficiencies, and in wanting to deeply resonate with the concerns of Indigenous people – and therefore ensure high levels of sustainability in design and construction – an infrastructure project is not just enriched culturally, but also in terms of resource requirements.
Indigenous input often results in greater efficiency, Hromek said, as well as giving engineers a meaningful base to build around.
That can lead to smarter and better outcomes that connect tradition and story from the past to hope and innovation of the future. In doing so, they inspire excellent engineering.
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This is a fantastic outcome and is hopefully an approach that is adopted on future projects Australia-wide. It’s a great example of stakeholder-driven design, which is often convoluted, but in this case was streamlined to deliver an elegant and meaningful solution.
Great article Chris!