In a new exhibition at The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia, the Birrarung, or Yarra River, is getting a conceptual upgrade. Eight leading Australian landscape architecture and design firms were invited to reimagine the lands and waters of the Birrarung.
With proposals from ASPECT Studios, Bush Projects, McGregor Coxall, OFFICE, Openwork, REALMstudios, SBLA and TCL, Reimagining Birrarung: Design Concepts for 2070 presents a vision for how communities can better access, engage with, and care for this living ecosystem.
The exhibition has been developed through consultation with Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Elders, and is in association with the Birrarung Council, who say, “Reimagining Birrarung: Design Concepts for 2070 provides a forum for exploring ideas from a range of different perspectives, stimulating thinking about the future of the Birrarung. The Birrarung Council encourages the dialogue and thinking this exhibition opens, marking a step in our journey of shared stewardship to collectively shape and advocate for the Birrarung.”
View, in pictures, a vision for the future of the Birrarung.
The Great Birrarung Parkland 2070. Image: McGregor Coxall.
Manningham Road Bridge, 2070. Image: Openwork.
Image: Office
Renders from ASPECT Studios ahead of the exhibition Reimagining Birrarung: Design Concepts for 2070 on display at The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia from August 2024. Image courtesy of ASPECT Studios.
Image: Postcards from the future: the river-cleaning Birrabot. REALMstudios
NoOffence but you are the problem (Birrarung Boardgame). Image: SBLA
Future Core Samples (2030–2070). Image: TCL
Birrarung Bio-zone Guide. Image: Bush Projects.
Reimagining Birrarung: Design Concepts for 2070
The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia
23 August—2 February 2025
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