RMIT PlaceLab Wrap-Up 2023!

Well, that’s a wrap on RMIT PlaceLab for 2023!!

We’ve had a fantastic year — delivering four great Research Projects that allowed us to engage deeply with community, industry, and our place-making partners on a range of themes directly related to our locales, and that provided tangible input around what is needed and could be.

At our Brunswick Studio, the ‘Wear & Care’ Project allowed us to link RMIT’s academic expertise with some of the individuals, community groups, enterprises and initiatives that are doing great stuff around re-thinking ways towards more regenerative fashion systems.
Our ‘Voice, Vibe and Vision’ Project took us right into the heart of really understanding what makes Brunswick — Brunswick and what is meant by “that vibe” that we all talk about!

At Melbourne through the ‘Flatpack: Repacked’ Project we tackled the challenge of addressing furniture waste in an urban setting, resulting in some valuable insights that could be put into practice by a range of stakeholders.
Our ‘Cardigan Commons’ Project allowed us to envision what could be done to bring more plant and animal life into the area by reimagining the way Cardigan Street is used, planned and experienced.

Do make sure you have a look at all the amazing outputs we have created from this research — from books, Zines, data visualisations, toolkits, and reports — it’s all available from the RMIT PlaceLab website and accompanying posts.

A big thank you to our collaborators, partners, supporters, and our PlaceLab Research Advisory Group, who have encouraged, advocated, and assisted with the initiative. We appreciate the knowledge, information, and insights you have shared.

Special thanks also to all at RMIT University, the City of Merri-bek and the City of Melbourne; as well as the Victorian State Government who through the VHESIF program allowed a nugget of an idea we had for a ‘hyper-local living lab’ to be realised into what is now RMIT PlaceLab!

Thanks, to all of those that participated in our PlaceLab activities — attending events, responding to surveys, participating in interviews, conversations, and workshops – sharing your lived experiences and perspectives. It greatly assisted our work.

And of course, a huge shout out to the PlaceLab Team!
Our wonderful Coordinator, Frances Gordon, who has kept us all in line and on track. Our fabulous Comms Assistant Dani Francisco, who has helped to get our news out to you all. And our amazing research team — Hayley Thompson, Luke Gebert, Nhu Bui, Cherese Sonkkila and Paloma Bugedo — as well as our past research team members. Your hard work, ideas, input, and imagination is most appreciated and valued. We have done fantastic work; and can all be very proud of what we have achieved.
Acknowledgement to Brock Hogan, PlaceLab’s Co-creator, and lead for his vision and quality input too. It has been a major contribution to the success of the initiative.

We have some new plans for RMIT PlaceLab in 2024 — so stay tuned for more detail to come.

In the meantime, we wish you all the very best for the holiday season. Stay well and safe and we look forward to connecting with you in the new year!

Kiri Delly
RMIT PlaceLab Co-Lead