Cave Urban: Working with Community

Abstract

Cave Urban is a Sydney-based multidisciplinary studio formed by artists, architects, and designers. Their practice explores the intersection of art and architecture by creating large-scale public installations, with an emphasis on community engagement, collaboration, and ecological design. Drawing upon research of vernacular construction, Cave Urban is interested in the construction of lightweight semi-permanent architecture, utilizing the construction process as a mechanism for community engagement and knowledge transfer. Cave Urban prioritizes the use of locally sourced renewable and recycled materials to limit ecological impact and looks to embed a social and cultural legacy through the educational empowerment of those involved. This paper explores Cave Urban’s design and construction methodology in reference to case studies that demonstrate how technical and community collaboration enable the construction of new architectural forms that champion the environment and challenge notions of permanence. It is a process that aims to build social resilience through capacity building and skills development alongside ecological resilience through the local cultivation and use of bamboo as a renewable resource. Drawing upon the lessons learnt within an Australian context, Cave Urban is then able to share these findings with the global community.