Emma J DavisArt & Research
WorkCV

Observational drawing on site, Field Archive 01: QVM


The Field Archive (2005-ongoing) is an ongoing series of site-based studies that documents and interprets environments through observation, movement, drawing and recording.

    The Field Archive
    Scope: Interior Design
    Type: Site analysis, research
    Details: Archive housing research material
    Location: Melbourne
    Status: Completed within the studio Draw Lab at RMIT University under the supervision of Tori Dinardo
    Year: 2025
Developed as an expanding digital repository, the archive assembles drawings, notes, photographs, mappings, and collected fragments to examine how places are experienced temporally, spatially and sensorially. Each iteration focuses on a specific site, using fieldwork to reveal conditions that may inform future spatial practice and design research.
Field Archive 01: QVM (desktop browser view)


Field Archive 01: QVM (mobile view)



The Field Archive: 01 QVM (2025) examines Queen Victoria Market as its first field study. Focusing on vacant halls, shifting patterns of occupation and systems of circulation, the project investigates the market through movement and duration, with particular attention to thresholds, traces, and remnants.¹

Through walking, observing, mapping and drawing, the archive records layered spatial conditions and reorganises them into an evolving body of material. Hosted online, The Field Archive functions simultaneously as a record, research tool and reflective interface — preserving site observations while enabling reinterpretation, comparison and the ongoing generation of spatial ideas.

1. Pimlott, Mark. “The Shed”. In The Public Interior as Idea and Project. Heijningen: Jap Sam Books, 2016.




Screenshot of the visual index, Field Archive 01: QVM






Collaborative research material. Digital scan. Featuring work by students from field studies (Left and bottom)




Observational contour drawing on site, Field Archive 01: QVM
Observational video (00:29 sec loop), Field Archive 01: QVM


Threshold lines. Digital collage drawing developed, Field Archive 01: QVM
© Copyright 2026 Emma J Davis. 

Spatial Design, Interiors, Art & Research
Email: Emma@emmajdavis.com
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Via Sottotenente C. Giglio
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Sicily, Italy L4 80 Market Street
South Melbourne (Naarm)
Victoria, Australia 3205