VICTORIA’S FAMILY VIOLENCE MEMORIAL

IN COLLABORATION WITH OPENWORK

THE PROJECT HAS RECEIVED THE FOLLOWING AWARDS

AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS NATIONAL AWARD - NICHOLAS MURCUTT AWARD FOR SMALL PROJECT ARCHITECTURE

CITY OF MELBOURNE - MELBOURNE AWARDS 2023 CITY DESIGN AWARD

AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS - NATIONAL AWARD FOR SMALL PROJECTS

AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS VICTORIAN CHAPTER - KEVIN BORLAND AWARD FOR SMALL PROJECT ARCHITECTURE

AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS VICTORIAN CHAPTER - AWARD OF EXCELLENCE FOR SMALL PROJECTS

The memorial.
Singular. Robust.
Procession
Congregation
Acknowledgement
Space for the individual
Space for the collective.

An embedded condition within an existing context
A significant site book ending a particular time, a particular place
Adjacency
The Commonwealth. The Fitzroy Gardens.
Firm. Defiant. Present. Silent.

Purple planting employed as a signifier of the memorial’s cause
This is not simply a landscape intervention
This is a formal and political intervention
Balancing the sensitivities of place and association
Fragility and strength. Thinness. Robust. Singular.

A space that can provide for several modes of occupation
Expansion
Contraction
The gaze beyond
Congregation in the round. Cocooned. Supported.

The existing conditions within the park are curated
The canopy of the tree defining an implied space
Shade. Dappled light. Pause. Reflect.
A ‘Hip height’ wall
Provides for a scale that allows for security, comfort and visibility

Family Violence is not ‘concluded’
An acknowledgment of the immeasurable
No names
But individual memories
Resilient. Silent.

The design has evolved in consultation with the City of Melbourne, the Department of Premier and Cabinet Office for Women, The Victims and Survivors Advisory Committee, Forced Adoption Practices, Indigenous Advisor Sarah Lynn Rees (JCB IAAD) and The Traditional Owners of Wurundjeri, Boon Wurrung and Bunurong.

MUIR+OPENWORK

Photography by Peter Bennetts