Local Australian Artist Commissioned for 1000 La Trobe
Melbourne’s Docklands precinct will continue to hone the city’s public art evolution with the announcement of Perth artist Stuart Green to design and create a public artwork at Poly Australia’s 1000 La Trobe.
The first instalment of the proposed artwork will greet the public upon entry to 1000 La Trobe, travelling through the outdoor space into the ground-floor offering. The hero piece will then complete the entire artwork contribution, powerfully positioned in the outdoor, northern courtyard, where both tenants and the public can actively enjoy its creative formation.
Proposed at seven metres high the primary sculpture will host peak visibility from Digital Drive, directly off La Trobe Street. With a predominantly red colour-scheme, the design plays tribute to the transportation and logistical history of the site. The combination of red hues and few grey tangencies will illuminate at night, retelling the times gone by of train lights irradiating the depot into the night through an abstract emulation.
Mr Green’s proposed design honours his capability to produce abstract masterpieces through a magnitude of varying shapes and forms. Its puzzle-like structure will intertwine steel tubular columns, resembling rhythm and sculptural mass in a striking loop formation said to imitate the train carriages that frequented the tracks of the area.
Public artist Stuart Green said the opportunity to design the artwork for 1000 La Trobe allowed him to explore ways to attribute the industrial and rail history of the site whilst informing his contemporary sculpture practice.
“The site was formerly cut through with branching rail lines linking the docks to the rest of the State. The new artwork draws on the parallel character of these travel lines cutting through space to create a tall looped path in heavy metal and segmented colour. The resulting sculpture is massive but silent, with the curves having a bodily muscular sense as the eye follows the form through its swoop and tangle with the enveloping space,” Green said.
Poly Victoria Executive Director Steve Wang said the concept from Mr Green was a standout due to its mindful integration of the sites history.
“As Melbourne’s key destination connecting the city to the sea, 1000 La Trobe plays tribute to the historical importance of the site through its design which will now be further illustrated through Green’s abstract imitation of the railway and its interconnectivity. It was important to us that the design showcased a synergy with our building and the precinct it will stand in for years to come through a unique formation that will instigate curiosity and conversation,” Wang said.
Public art studio Creative Road Director Rebecca Townsend is excited to work with Mr Green for the second time.
“1000 La Trobe sits upon rail lines that once held and transported a multitude of goods around Victoria and beyond. Green’s work draws on this history to create a bold visual landmark for Docklands and its Digital Harbour precinct. The work’s form and materiality are inspired by industrial object and weight, parallel scything and branching lines, segmented industrial colour, movement and multitudes,” Townsend said.
Easily accessible from La Trobe Street, Mr Green’s artwork is destined to become monumental to the popular Docklands Public Art Walk initiated by Development Victoria in late 2017 as part of the Docklands rejuvenation project.
Mr Green’s work will further complement the two introductory pieces of the art trail, each individually produced by internationally acclaimed street artist RONE and British sculptor Anthony Gormley. Both artworks are located at the La Trobe Street entrance to Marvel Stadium.
Development Victoria’s Precincts Development Director Karen Cowden said the proposed concept will instigate diversity within the Docklands public art program.
“We are proud to oversee the extensive public art program in Docklands. We are pleased that the proposed urban art for 1000 La Trobe reflects Docklands’ rail heritage and its former role as one of Australia’s most prominent industrial and transport hubs,” said Cowden.
Designed by internationally acclaimed Woods Bagot, the 40,000-square-metre development at 1000 La Trobe Street will consist of 23 levels reaching approximately 91m high and will be the first major tower in the Digital Harbour Precinct. The towers façade already denotes the history of the site with perceptively positioned tracking signifying the railway way lines of the past.
Woods Bagot Principal and Global Design Leader, Bruno Mendes, said that the addition of a public artwork will directly influence how people see and connect with 1000 La Trobe.
“The addition of a site-specific public artwork is a fitting complement to the community-focused design of 1000 La Trobe’s ground plane. Fully integrated with the street, the ground level is a public meeting place that connects tenants and visitors to Docklands. As a beautiful, welcoming meeting point, Stuart Green’s artwork will encourage connection and conversation,” Mendes said.
Poly Australia is currently taking tenant queries for 1000 La Trobe through co-agents Edward Knowles and Shane Burns from Colliers International and Stuart Colquhoun and Ashley Buller from JLL Australia.
