This exhibition showcases models and drawings by Callum Parker and Daniel Mazzucco, developed during their Master of Architecture program in 2022, as a response to a studio brief titled Critical Carbon. Devised by Jennifer Ferng, the brief invites students to engage with sites listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register, exploring the role of carbon- and energy-responsible designs in heritage conservation. These retrofitting schemes are designed as a form of climate-change mitigation, inviting future architects to reflect on the link between carbon-conscious design and the preservation of culture.

Parker and Mazzucco’s project centres on the complex on Bare Island, a low, rocky islet located 100 metres off the La Perouse Headland in Gamay/Botany Bay. In their proposal, a singular bridge and boardwalk guide visitors through a linear journey through the tunnels, barracks and magazines, with artefacts displayed in the niches throughout the fort. This pathway creates a chronological narrative which also encourages a deeper reflection on the pre-Cook landscape and First Nations stories which had evanesced in the history of colonial fortification.