Designing for our waterways

Date: Sep 01, 2024

Category: Events and exhibitions

Reimagining Birrarung Install Sean Fennessy 39

The National Gallery of Victoria's newest exhibition, Reimagining Birrarung: Design Concepts for 2070, presents us with a not-so-distant future for the Birrarung/Yarra River from the minds of eight landscape architecture practices. This is quite possible the first exhibition to feature landscape architects in a significant cultural institute in Australia.

Global Design Director, Kirsten Bauer was interviewed for Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)’s Radio National Blueprint For Living by host Jonathan Green. She said each of the futures presented is driven by the desire to do the right thing by the Birrarung: “We as designers are listening to the river and listening to Traditional owners, and to use that to understand how we can better design for our waterways.”

2024 08 22 NGV Reimagining Birrarung DSC 6168 Pic Eugene Hyland web

ASPECT’s vision for the Birrarung transforms a 4km stretch of South Yarra and Richmond into a vision of the Great Birrarung Parkland. By reclaiming lands within the old flood line, regenerating wetlands and billabongs, and creating a north-south parkland and pedestrian bridge to connect Como Park with Herring Island.

Reimagining Birrarung is open at the NGV Australia until Sunday, 2 February 2025.

You can listen to the full interview here