LEONARDO RAMIAARCHITECTURE
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02 / STUDIO 4 · MID-REVIEW

Construction Reform

Building a culture of reuse.

A decarbonisation institute that questions unnecessary construction. The proposal brings material intake, sorting, storage and redistribution together with research and public learning. Its organisation makes the processes of reuse visible, connecting advocacy with the practical work of reform.

Mount Tomah, NSW · 2026Institution / Material reuse

Academic collaboration · Leonardo Ramia and Ryan Hennessy · Tutor: Jasper Ludewig

01CONCEPT & PROGRAMME

Questioning the need to build.

Construction Reform proposes an institute organised around four connected activities: Advocate, Enable, Circulate and Reform. Public learning sits alongside material handling and research into alternatives.

01.01 / Programme flows

The Sankey diagram connects activities and spatial allocations across the institute.

01.02 / Organisational plan, sections and axonometrics

The relationship between programme groups is explored in two and three dimensions.

02DESIGN DEVELOPMENT

From material cycle to spatial order.

The design develops from a conceptual reading of decarbonisation into an operational sequence: intake, sort, store and dispatch. Further studies test how that organisation can respond to different sites.

02.01 / Step-by-step development

A sequence of transformations links the conceptual diagram with the institute’s programme.

02.02 / Three site tests

Comparative organisational studies explore how the programme changes with its setting.

03PLANS & SECTIONS

A connected institute in the landscape.

Drafted drawings develop the proposal’s spatial organisation and relationship to changing ground levels. Collage studies then explore the occupation and atmosphere of the same spaces.

03.01 / Drafted plan

The plan locates the principal programme areas and their connections.

03.02 / Drafted sections

Two sections describe spatial relationships and the building’s meeting with the terrain.

03.03 / Collage plans

Lower-ground and ground-level studies explore occupation within the proposal.

03.04 / Collage sections

The relationship between interior space, planting and changes in level.

04MATERIAL STRATEGY

Reuse as a design decision.

The proposed material hierarchy prioritises retention and reuse, followed by recycling and repurposing. New material is introduced only where necessary. The assembly study explores salvaged structure and alternative materials.

04.01 / Exploded axonometric and material cycles

Reused trusses, recovered materials and proposed alternatives are brought together in an assembly study.

05SUPPORTING INVESTIGATIONS

Testing the wider argument.

These related studies support the Studio 4 investigation. They are presented separately from the Mount Tomah proposal.

05.01 / Sydney Fish Market: Reform Year 0

A related site and programme study from the shared review submission. Drawing credited to Ryan Hennessy.

05.02 / Säynätsalo Town Hall: precedent analysis

Leonardo Ramia’s analysis of Alvar Aalto’s town hall, examining organisation, thresholds, compression and release. Precedent study, not a proposed design.

END OF PROJECT / STUDIO 4 · MID-REVIEW

Construction Reform

Academic collaboration · Leonardo Ramia and Ryan Hennessy · Tutor: Jasper Ludewig

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