The Architect as Intermediary: Between the Staffroom and the Precarious City

This thesis examines how architects can help create fairer cities by supporting delivery riders and other precarious workers. It focuses on the Gig Workers’ Hub in Melbourne, which provided riders with essential amenities, opportunities to socialise, and a base for collective organisation. The project shows how architects can act as intermediaries—working between institutions and marginalised groups—to create spaces that foster dignity and solidarity. By comparing Melbourne’s Hub with similar initiatives overseas, the research highlights a broader role for architecture: not only designing buildings, but shaping the conditions for more just and inclusive urban life.