ArchitectureFlorence LAugust 17, 2022Architecture, Australia, Melbourne

POND[ER] || This Pink Pond at the National Gallery of Victoria is a Space for Contemplation, Conversation and Connection

ArchitectureFlorence LAugust 17, 2022Architecture, Australia, Melbourne

What better way to cool down in the hot Australian summer than wading through a pink pond?

The dreamy pink pond set amongst a lush greenery backdrop is the result of the NGV’s annual architectural competition, a two-stage national competition in which architects or multi-disciplinary teams are invited to submit a design for an engaging temporary structure or installation to activate the NGV’s Grollo Equiset Garden, one of Melbourne’s great civic and cultural spaces.

Pond[er] is an installation comprising two key elements: a body of indigenous plants and a body of water. Situated in the Grollo Equiset Garden at the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) International was a collaboration between architecture studio Taylor Knights and artist James Carey.

*Designed as a space to reflect, converse and connect, pond[er] is an open space that invites visitors to interact with the installation.*

Using the NGV’s water system, pond[er] refers to Australian inland salt lakes, highlighting water's scarcity and political implications as a natural resource. pond[er] includes beds of Australian wildflowers that bloom at different times throughout the exhibition, highlighting the beauty and precariousness of our natural ecology. pond[er] becomes part of the NGV garden rather than a separate architectural object and invites visitors to move into the installation through accessible walkways, arriving at the pink pond where they can wade within.

The pink pond offers a space for visitors to cool off during the summer months and reflect on their relationship with the environment and our shared future living successfully together in the driest continent on earth.

Ponder Pink Pond Melbourne — *What better way to cool down on a hot summer day than wading through a pink pond?*

The project also had sustainability as a key consideration, as the team ensured that the materials selected would be reused in future projects so that nothing ends up in a landfill. The materials selected for the project are ethically sourced and manufactured and, wherever possible, are intended to be distributed and used again by various Landcare, Indigenous, and community groups upon deinstallation.

Organizations include the Willum Warrain Aboriginal Association which will use the access flooring in an upcoming landscape project; The Projects We Do Together, which will use the cork and Australian wildflowers in their ongoing rehabilitation quarry project in The Otways, Victoria; The Koori Heritage Trust, which will receive a monetary donation from the on-sell of the plumbing system used in pond[er]; and Agency of Sculpture, which will use the steel components of pond[er] in an upcoming civic sculptural project collaborating with disadvantaged regional youth.

Pond[er] is a rare exhibition that pays homage to Australia’s beautiful natural elements and presents an approachable installation that encourages the public to interact and socialize within it.