The Living Pavilion

An indigenous-led event on Wurundjeri Country, we created a temporary landscape at The University of Melbourne using 40,000 plants native to the Kulin Nations.
The Living Pavilion
Victoria
Landscaping
New South Wales
South Australia
Victoria
Blowing
Hydromulching
Hydroseeding
Landscaping
Materials
Nursery
The Living Pavilion - the recreation of a lost landscape
Location University of Melbourne, Parkville Campus
Project completion May 2019

The Living Pavilion was envisioned as a recyclable, biodegradable, edible and biodiverse event space that celebrates Indigenous knowledge systems, ecological science and sustainable design through participatory arts practice. It is also a key research and knowledge translation project.

The Living Pavilion was used as a “Living Lab” – to test, monitor and engage students, stakeholders and the general community in a range of urban greening, biodiversity, place making, social science, art and design research.

Ecodynamics collaborated with Charles Solomon from Garawana to ensure the plants chosen showcased not only the unique ecologies of the Kulin Nations, but also the cultural, nutritional, medicinal and technological uses employed over thousands of generations of careful custodianship.

The site featured a Gathering Tree where traditional indigenous practises like weaving were demonstrated.
The site is located above Bouverie Creek, which has been urbanised and piped. The pathway leading into and through the site was painted to mimic the Creek.
Ecodynamics' Nursery Manager Jeff Beavis (left) and Project Manager Randall Wee (right) constructed the landscape on site
The 40,000 plants used to create The Living Pavilion were then installed at Thompsons Road, Lyndhurst, on behalf of Major Roads Projects Victoria.

The Ecodynamics Nursery was involved through the donation of plants and labour to the project to build the landscape, with 40,000 plants relocated from our nursery to build aquatic and terrestrial landscapes on the site.

Upon completion of The Living Pavilion, the 40,000 plants at The Living Pavilion were installed on the Thompsons Road upgrade, a Major Roads Projects Victoria initiative to improve and maintain the flora, fauna and ecosystems that can be impacted by road construction works, thereby preserving and enhancing roadside diversity.

Client
The University of Melbourne
The plants chosen for The Living Pavilion were comprised entirely of plants native to the Kulin Nations.