Migrant houses in Northcote, Melbourne, Australia, 1950‐1975

The data collection contains documentation of migrant houses in Northcote, Melbourne. It includes photographic documentation of the houses, interviews with the inhabitants, and drawings/sketches of the houses.The focus of the research is on houses that were built between 1950 and 1975. These houses are themselves a product of the construction skills and processes of post-war immigrants and the waves of 1960s immigrants into Australia from Southern European countries. Typically, these houses are brick veneer and have a strict sense of order and endurance about their design and image of the facade. A series of outdoor and semi-outdoor spaces produce a complexity of inside-outside relations and make possible different lifestyles. Stories of the migrant house suggest it is an example of what might be called an ‘eco-object’, an object through which ecological practices are interwoven with social and cultural orientations. The houses are also aesthetic artefacts that present a public image through their facades. The project has documented the ‘material history’ of the houses. It illustrates the significance of particular elements/processes including: the terrace, new nature (in the front garden and back vegetable garden), summer kitchen, ongoing construction and storage space.

本数据集收录了澳大利亚墨尔本诺斯克特（Northcote）地区移民住宅的全套档案资料，涵盖住宅摄影记录、居民访谈文稿与建筑测绘/手绘草图。本研究的核心对象为1950年至1975年间建造的移民住宅：此类住宅既是战后移民建筑技艺与建造流程的具象产物，也承载了20世纪60年代南欧移民涌入澳大利亚的时代印记。这类住宅普遍采用砖饰面（brick veneer）工艺，其设计与外立面形象兼具规整秩序感与持久耐用性；一系列户外与半户外空间构建了复杂的室内外互动关系，为多元生活方式提供了实践可能。移民住宅的相关档案表明，此类住宅可被视作一种‘生态载体（eco-object）’——其将生态实践与社会文化取向深度交织，同时亦是通过外立面塑造公共视觉形象的审美造物。本项目已完整梳理并记录了这些住宅的物质史（material history），并阐释了若干核心建筑元素与建造流程的重要价值，包括露台、前花园与后院菜园中的新自然景观、夏季厨房、持续性改扩建工程以及储物空间。