As host to the media launch of Melbourne Design Week and announcement of the Melbourne Design Week Award presented by Mercedes Benz, Revival’s Urban Tree Recovery space in Collingwood could not have encapsulated the mood of the Design Week better.
A working mill and kiln that specialises in reuse, Revival is at the cross roads of change. As such, Revival Project’s exhibition of Robbie Neville’s poignant exhibition 100 Circles, could not be more apt.
While the eye is drawn to the grid procession of 100 rough sawn timber boxes mounted on poles and the pervading hush of the room, it is the smell of timber that envelops and signals this installation as something steeped in nature. As Neville explains, Revival Projects became aware of five large Cypress Macrocarpa trees growing dangerously close to the graves in Box Hill Cemetery in Melbourne. Effectively, the trees had become unsafe, their roots intertwining with the soil of the deceased. As such, Revival Projects set about salvaging the trees in 2023, with the intersection of life and death, inherent to these trees, forming the inspiration for the 100 Circles initiative which transformed the unwanted trees into a symbol of renewal.
Melbourne Design Week poses the question: What MATTERS to you?
The smaller logs were milled into timber sections to create 100 unique urns. Designed with sustainability in mind, these urns use no glue or mechanical elements. Moreover, each lid houses a seed of the Golden Wattle, with good instructions for the heat and scarification processes needed to spark germination. When buried, the urns decompose completely, allowing the cremated ashes they hold to nourish a new tree, embodying the cycle of life emerging from death.
To enhance this ecological process, each urn is accompanied by half a cup of activated charcoal. This charcoal, salvaged from a vandalized timber sculpture in Melbourne’s Docklands in 2022, helps neutralise the pH levels of the cremated remains. Environmental balance is the key message of the project, but clearly underscored by the value of repurposing materials that might otherwise be discarded.
Beautiful, functional but also personal, each urn embodies stories waiting to be told. Additionally, the urns are available for purchase, with proceeds donated to Indigenous groups managing post-fire forests. Custodians, of these urns have been invited to share their personal connection to the concept, with their stories displayed in the Melbourne Design Week exhibition at Revival in Collingwood. This space, notable for being Australia’s only inner-city timber mill and kiln, will showcase the 100 urns alongside videos and images of the tree removal process, working notes, research, and environmental impact data such as carbon sequestration volumes.
Revival’s philosophy challenges traditional consumption and waste practices, advocating for a revolutionary shift in how industries perceive and utilize existing materials. By prioritizing the identification and salvage of materials before project inception, they aim to integrate repurposing and reuse as foundational elements of the industry.
Their message is clear: “Reduce carbon, reduce waste, reduce deforestation, reduce transport, reduce consumption. Use the shit you already have to help build your new shit.”
This blunt, urgent call to action underscores the critical need for a paradigm shift in resource management.
Looking to the future, Revival is preparing for another significant project with the planned demolition of the Collingwood Hub around 2024. Collaborating with Grimshaw Design Practice and ANPLUS Developers, they plan to salvage every piece of timber and brick, repurposing these materials for the new development on the same site. This initiative highlights the immeasurable value of existing materials across urban landscapes, emphasising their crucial role in sustainable development.
Revival is more than just a company; it is a movement urging us to rethink our relationship with materials and waste. By demonstrating the potential of salvaged resources and embedding sustainability into the very fabric of design and construction, Revival is paving the way for a future where we honour our environment by making the most of what we already have.
As a Zero Footprint Reproposing Collingwood hub, it is an extraordinary collaboration with Grimshaw, Perri Projects, HIP V HYPE, BAR Studio, FJMT Studio, ANPLUS, Assemble, , NGV, Foolscap Studio, Relative Projects, Cox Architecture, Mercedes Benz, Mek Studio, Development Victoria, Never Too Small, Sustainability Victoria, Finding Infinity, Bayley Ward, Pop Architecture, Andy Fergus, Landream, Kerstin Thompson Architects, East West Childcare, Beulah International, BKK Architects, Dodgy Paper, Cumulus Studio and Sibling Architecture, just some of the collaborating partners supporting this exemplar studio.
Revivl Projects
revivlprojects.com.au
Melbourne Design Week 2024
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