DESIGN CANBERRA
23 Oct 2018
Celebrating the rich design history of Australia’s capital city, the annual DESIGN Canberra festival launches next month with an array of exhibitions, including a landmark public art installation by renowned architect Kengo Kuma.
“Design is in Canberra’s DNA. From the time of Walter and Marion Griffin’s visionary design a century ago, to iconic experimental modernist architecture of the 1950s and 60s, through to contemporary and sustainable design developments today, Canberra has always been a living design laboratory.” DESIGN Canberra.
The annual DESIGN Canberra festival kicks of next month with a series of events that celebrate and promote the city as a global place of design. During the month of November, over 100 over 100 events, exhibitions, talks, tours, markets, artist studios and open homes will be showcased.
Launching this year’s festival will be a highly anticipated offering from one of the most significant Japanese figures in contemporary architecture, Kengo Kuma. His installation, NAMAKO, will activate Aspen Island in Lake Burley Griffin for the duration of the festival.
The acclaimed architect, most recently recognised as one of three designers of Tokyo’s Olympic Stadium for the 2020 Olympic Games, will be joining other artists from Canberra’s thriving craft and design community at the festival.
“DESIGN Canberra is honoured to work with one of the world’s leading architects to design the inaugural ephemeral architecture project. The project promotes experimental and authentic design, fostering international collaboration and design education,” says Rachael Coghlan, CEO of Craft ACT and Artistic Director of DESIGN Canberra 2018.
Kuma’s installation will be composed of a steel rod frame structure and mesh made with bio-acrylic rods woven together by zip-ties. The finished will be stand 3m high by 12m wide and is inspired by the Japanese word for sea cucumber - namako. The piece reflects the unique characteristics of the animal’s softness, transparency and form, allowing audiences to interact with the installation and creating a rich relationship to the surrounding context.
Like many of Kuma’s designs, NAMAKO conceptually and physically follows his pursuit of different types of weaving, a process he believes underpins the fundamentals of architecture. His work weaves together different methods, materials, people, ideas and spaces to present innovative designs on a global scale, and has been supported by faculty and students at the University of Tokyo Kuma Lab.
“Our laboratory investigates the possibilities of weaving through many projects and other activities. This includes our ongoing installation project in Australia that will be shown in DESIGN Canberra, which is produced through a reckless weaving process," says Kengo Kuma.
THE LOCATION
Holding significance to the city, Lake Burley Griffin was named after the architect who designed the city of Canberra in 1911, Walter Burley Griffin, and his wife, fellow architect and creative partner Marion Mahony Griffin, who centred the city’s design to sit within the landscape, rather than dominating it. The Parliament House Vista incorporating Aspen Island and the Carillon, is the core of the most ambitious and most successful example of twentieth century urban planning in Australia. Soon to be the platform for NAMAKO, Aspen Island in Lake Burley Griffin intrinsically uses nature to best display the installation, encouraging people to interact with the site and its spirit of place.
THE FESTIVAL
DESIGN Canberra is an annual festival that celebrates and promotes Canberra as a global city of design. The festival is for all interests and ages and most events are free.
Design is in Canberra’s DNA. From the time of Walter and Marion Griffin’s visionary design a century ago, to iconic experimental modernist architecture of the 1950s and 60s, through to contemporary and sustainable design developments today, Canberra has always been a living design laboratory.
Presented by Craft ACT: Craft and Design Centre. To find out more visit www.designcanberrafestival.com.au