We all had the great fortune to find ourselves at Sydney airport a few weeks ago….but it wasn’t until boarding that we knew where we were off to. We were off to grace Melbourne with our presence, a weekend of celebrations and inspiration and to see what we could milk from this wonderful, vibrant city. Look out Melbourne…Arcadia are on their way.
The itinerary set out for us was jam packed, visiting a number of well loved and lively places in the heart of Melbourne which positively contribute to everyday life. The day was laid out to inspire us with a range of place making examples. All of these carefully selected places contributed to our perception and understanding whilst developing a greater appreciation in regards to place making and activation. It also helped to expand our knowledge and helped to develop skills on assessing a place using all the 5 P’s of place making framework (courtesy of Village Well) ;
First stop the Pop-up Patch
On the top level of a car park behind Melbourne’s Federation Square, burrowed in amongst the CBD’s urban landscape, ‘Pop up Patch’ has created a community garden in the center of the city, designed for all to access their own little piece of homegrown edible goods. Fashioning an easy do it yourself approach to farm your own produce, the notion is promoting healthy eating and educating the community where their everyday food comes from and how simple it is to do yourself in such a small space.
Memberships come with a fully prepared Little Veggie Patch Co crate with all of the tools and know-how needed to garden right, along with a selection of seasonal seeds and seedlings when required .
This community gardening approach is nothing new, however, Little Veggie succeeds in presenting itself as an idyllic lifestyle choice. It presents itself well to the onlookers (as well as us) as a place of aesthetic beauty, a learning place and most of all, a place where you can pick up your homegrown green groceries before or after work. These are all principles that engage the general public, transforming this trend into a sustainable lifestyle choice.
Check out their promotional video for ‘The Fed Square Pop Up Patch’
Sourced from youtube.com
Fed Square
This is a not so conventional large rectangular space, a public space that has a series of linking elevated areas surrounded by buildings that open onto it at all angles creating unique and unanticipated experiences. This place has a grand sense of occasion, which invites exploration and entry. A key driver of the success of the space relates to one of our 5 P’s – Programming. A well-managed calendar ensures the space is constantly buzzing with events / installations and people.
It is an exciting facade that attracts attention and has already established itself as an iconic Melbourne landmark. Fed Square is an interesting and effective civic and cultural space with an average of more than 9 million visitors a year, achieved through its unique celebration of identity and place. Its location is a vital component for its successful nature as a venue combined with its ease of accessibility.
Testing Grounds
“Testing Grounds is a temporary and free outdoor art space. It is a place for experimentation and testing ideas, for public gatherings and educational opportunities in the heart of Melbourne’s arts precinct.”
A vacant site since the 1980’s, hidden away behind the Art’s Centre and the Australian Ballet. It has been revitalized with a temporary design of reclaimed timber pallets, shipping containers, film projectors, water tanks and compost heaps.
Testing Grounds is a place for new works of art and creative ideas to be developed and shared. Testing Grounds is also an exploration into ways to use vacant or under- utilized civic space in order to provide the general public with greater amenity.
Perhaps we visited at a time when things were just warming up for the day. It was a little quiet and not a lot of art or culture to immerse ourselves in but we were fortunate enough to speak to Joseph Norster, co-creator of the Testing Grounds form ‘These are The Projects we do together’, and to gain an insight into his vision for the site and the potential it holds for this once derelict location.
For more information on the Testing Grounds check out their website http://www.testing-grounds.com.au
Lane Ways
This is why I Iove Melbourne- the lane way culture. There is an extraordinary energy and creativity in this wonderful city, united with a grittiness that at times resembles the trendy Shoreditch, London vibe, evoking memories of my fabulous year in Ol’ Blighty. One of its most distinctive qualities are the engaging laneways that interconnect the city centre. Wandering around the streets lost, as a Sydney sider, you stumbling across hidden gems, narrow alleyways decorated with street art and packed with people sipping coffees or cocktails.
Here is an interesting read on Melbourne’s laneway culture and how we here in Sydney have our own version of the laneway.
RMIT
For years it sat derelict as a former car park. A new lease of life has been introduced to this city campus creating an activated community space. This A’Beckett street site owned by RMIT certainly does not feel like a temporary space though. While the inspired use of space brings not only the RMIT and Melbourne communities together through multi-use sporting courts, modern landscaping features, BBQ facilities, table tennis, WiFi and bike parking. We as passers by have been able to make this space our own. As it is a temporary, only a few trees have been planted but the space has been given a green atmosphere with the large-scale green mural that encompasses the space.
Section 8 Bar
After a long day of seeing the sites and exploring this is just what the Arcadia team needed – Pirate Punch….agggrhhh!
This was another little gem and is uniquely Melbourne. A temporary pop up bar but with a permanent well loved hipster hang out. Having that gritty temporary grungy vibe the old carpark now boasts 2 shipping containers, old wooden pallets set out in place of chairs and decorated in graffiti.
This is just a taste of what the Arcadia team explored and was left feeling inspired. Opening our eyes to Melbourne’s cultural vibe, and its thriving street art scene, it is testament to the city’s unique spirit and creativity. No Christmas party is complete without a good secret Santa, amazing food and wine and then to top it of a hit of karaoke!!
Enjoy the photos and a huge thank you to Alex and Mike for what was such an inspiring and memorable weekend in Melbourne.
Merry Christmas to all.
