Architects are often occupied with designing swish hotels or bespoke homes.
However, some architects and designers focus on the less fortunate in our communities.
The "sensory gallery", which is part of the amenities provided by Wimmera Uniting Care in Horsham, is one such project.
Designed by Smith + Tracey Architects (www.smithtracey.com.au), the facility covers those in need; whether it's finding accommodation for the homeless, assisting those seeking work, or providing assistance for the disabled.
"People coming to this centre are often emotionally fragile. They're in desperate need of help," architect Mark Grigsby, a director of Smith + Tracey Architects, says.
He worked with interior designer Olivia Hrouda on the project.
Developed over five years and two stages – with the sensory gallery forming part of the second stage – this project started in difficult times. In 2008, there was the GFC, and a year later, a drought. So as well as dealing with matters of social urgency, the architects were mindful of the hardships in the broader rural community.
"This place had to be a centre of transition; an environment that would settle people down and distract them temporarily from their daily problems," Hrouda says.
She was conscious of creating a youthful and pleasurable design that would lift people's spirits as soon as they walked through the front door.
Patrons enter the sensory gallery and walk past a green planter wall that spans two levels. A curved reception area – framed by timber-panelled walls – is as welcoming.
"We wanted to create a sense of nurturing upon arrival, not something that was clinical and intimidating," Hrouda says.
As nurturing is the waiting area to the seven meeting pods, all concealed behind faceted plywood doors and walls that appear as one surface.
"The idea was to allow people to enter these rooms discreetly, rather than feel as though they were being watched," Grigsby says.
Smith + Tracey Architects took their design inspiration from the established eucalypt trees that dotted nearby farmlands.
"Trunks" made from plywood provide structural support as well as seating at the base of each "tree".
And to keep the children occupied, the architects included a play area complete with an interactive light game. There was also a separate interactive floor light game activated from cameras on the ceiling (one game was based on jumping across water lilies).
"For a child, the experience is not dissimilar to entering the Faraway Tree (taken from a book by Enid Blyton). For adults, the experience is more of sitting in a forest," Hrouda says, pointing out the parquetry timber floors evocative of scattered leaves.
Like Blyton's books, which offered a sense of escape from the real world, Smith + Tracey Architects designed different counselling rooms to suit each client.
One room was conceived for children aged under eight. Small-scale, animal-shaped furniture was selected for youngsters, some of whom had autism. A woodland forest inspired another room, with logs attached to a wall. And then there was the "Rad" room, complete with funky furniture, such as the cocoon-like "bubble'"chair that would appeal to a teenager reluctant to talk about their problems.
For Smith + Tracey, this unique project came with a fairly loose brief.
"The first question asked is 'what is a sensory gallery'?" Grigsby says.
And unlike most design briefs, which focused on the physical, in this instance, the architects were mindful of all the senses; from visual and audio to smell and touch.
"It's rewarding working on these projects. It's looking after some of the community's most vulnerable and making the experience as welcoming as possible," Grigsby says.
