Field Rooms
Mobile structures to house ongoing artists in residence within a live development site in Waterloo. This is an outcome of the Open Field Agency Public Domain Strategy.
Architect: Hugo Moline.
Artist/Curator: Heidi Axelsen
Field rooms community of artists and organisers (2025/2026 round): Connie Anthes, Alexandra Crosby, Bek Conroy, Bec Gallo, Clare Lewis, Holly O’Neill, Lorna Munro, Mara Schwerdtfeger, Catherine Skipper and all the amazing speakers, artists and community who have come along.
Residency selection panel: Shuang Wu, Dr. Shannon Foster and Lizzie Thomson.
Residency manager: Hasib Hourani
D’harawal Knowledge Keeper: Dr. Shannon Foster
Design assist: Peter Begg
Documentation: Paris Perry
Engineer: Brushwood Engineers
Builder: Grant Robinson
Install team: Peter Begg, Hurricane Bestman, Denham Callanan and Simon Muigg.
University of Newcastle technical team: Tom Condurso, Ethan Cranfield, Max Doran and Oscar Smith.
Prefabrication team: Farhat Parviz, Kiconco Kushaba, Wanqing Luo, Trishna Chantal, Gizelle McKinnon, Emma Hayes, Alicia Hill,Alistair Eglinton, Maria Garcia Sanchez and Blanca Villabrille de Travy.
Client: DASCO
Public art consultant: Urban Art Projects
Original commissioner: City of Sydney
Filed under:
architecture, commons, public art
Testimonials:
“ I had the privilege of being part of the install team on this project—working alongside an incredibly well-resolved design that had clearly been deeply considered from every angle. After years of leading design on many of my own builds, it was a real pleasure to simply trust the system, roll up my sleeves, and help bring it to life.Since opening, I’ve had the chance to return for a couple of community events and witness the space doing exactly what it was designed to do—bringing people together, creating connection, and giving artists a platform. That’s a beautiful thing.” Tim Hurricane Bestman
“Field Rooms offered me the chance to be back in a familiar neighbourhood after more than than a decade was opportune to reflect on the changes in the area especially as my thinking had returned to radical municipalities and community building, this time thinking about it through a cybernetic lens and specifically praxis. Conceiving and building the Acts of Commoning series enabled me to put into event form some ideas for reimagining shared ownership of resources starting with the first event on building a community land trust.” Bek Conroy
architecture, commons, public art
Testimonials:
“ I had the privilege of being part of the install team on this project—working alongside an incredibly well-resolved design that had clearly been deeply considered from every angle. After years of leading design on many of my own builds, it was a real pleasure to simply trust the system, roll up my sleeves, and help bring it to life.Since opening, I’ve had the chance to return for a couple of community events and witness the space doing exactly what it was designed to do—bringing people together, creating connection, and giving artists a platform. That’s a beautiful thing.” Tim Hurricane Bestman
“Field Rooms offered me the chance to be back in a familiar neighbourhood after more than than a decade was opportune to reflect on the changes in the area especially as my thinking had returned to radical municipalities and community building, this time thinking about it through a cybernetic lens and specifically praxis. Conceiving and building the Acts of Commoning series enabled me to put into event form some ideas for reimagining shared ownership of resources starting with the first event on building a community land trust.” Bek Conroy