Bajirru! there you all are, hello! From the Yanyuwa language of Balarinji’s origin community Borroloola NT
Jinangu awara wabarrangu barra kalu-wingka marnijinju wabudala kari-nguthundawabarrangu jinangu Australia li-wulu marnaji barra liyi-Yanyuwawu awara li-Marranbala li-Arrwangala li-Gudanji jinangu awara Burrulula marnaji yamulhu
Our Country we belong to is Borroloola. Yanyuwa, Marra, Gudanji and Garrawa people.We welcome everyone to this land Australia.
Yanyuwa elder Samuel Evans Jamika
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Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. are respectfully advised this website contains references, artworks and images of people who have passed
Canberra Institute of Technology

Designing with Country Framework

Balarinji was engaged by Arup to develop a Designing with Country framework to interpret the local Ngunnawal culture and values for the redevelopment of the Woden Campus and Bruce Yurauna Centre at the Canberra Institute of Technology (CIT).

Balarinji’s Designing with Country framework informed the initial design and construction phases of the redevelopment project. The framework aimed to deepen the connection to Country within the CIT campuses by integrating Ngunnawal culture within the various multi-purpose spaces to encourage engagement and understanding of the site’s Aboriginal cultural, physical and spiritual contexts.

Balarinji undertook comprehensive Aboriginal community engagement with locally-connected Ngunnawal elders, knowledge holders, artists and community members to inform and co-design the Designing with Country framework. 

Workshops and individual interviews with the locally-connected Aboriginal community cohort explored the Ngunnawal narrative of the Woden Campus and the Bruce Yurauna Centre. This included a Creative Thinking Workshop co-facilitated by Ngunnawal and Wiradjuri woman Mary Mudford.

The Designing with Country framework included recommendations for the continued co-design of the Yurauna Centre with the Ngunnawal community. A key theme for the Yurauna Centre was the story of the Ngunnawal totem, the wedge-tailed eagle, Maliyan.

Other Designing with Country recommendations included design concepts for outdoor classrooms, play areas, wayfinding, weather screens, community cooking spaces, artwork installations, an art gallery space, glazing and landscape design, featuring native plants and bush foods.