City of Greater Dandenong
This is the first built stage of the overall masterplan for the Dandenong City Public Park renewal.
Our brief was to deliver a sculptural element in the park as well as a functional toilet block. It needed to sit within the landscape without dominating it. It needed to be robust, low maintenance and graffiti resistant yet visually delightful and pleasant to occupy.
The shape draws on the remnant red gums along the adjacent Dandenong Creek and the historical use in Australia of the burnt-out stump as a landscape marker, shelter and wayfinding device.
The sculptural shell is constructed from in-situ concrete, cast in four pours. The shape looks complex but it was constructed using straight segments of formwork. The segments were reused in each concrete-pour.
The timber formwork makes deep furrows in the monolithic, twisting concrete surface, animating it throughout the day with contrasts of light and shadow.
It’s suggestive of the silvery, weathered surface of the ancient river red gum, but still robust and practical.
