Blackened timber salvaged from the Black Summer bushfires will be used in the third Summer Place architecture pavilion in Albury on the New South Wales-Victoria border, which will be designed, for the first time, by a local practice.
To be built on Wiradjuri Country, the pavilion by Akimbo Architecture, titled See the Forest, will “bridge the divide” between QEII Square in the centre of Albury and the surrounding river landscape.
Akimbo Architecture director Carly Martin said the blackened timber design will reflect on the significance of the Murray River and specifically the riverside trees and the shade they provide.
“Along the river, trees may be anywhere up to 1,000 years old, linking an ancient Indigenous landscape to the present,” she said.
“These mighty trees have given wood for campfires, bark to craft canoes, and burls and roots for shaping water vessels.”
The blackened timber slabs on the exterior the pavilion will be sourced from firegrounds near Corryong, 120 kilometres east of Albury-Wodonga. They will be positioned vertically, “maintaining their connection to the forest from which they came.”
See the Forest, the 2021 Summer Place pavilion by Akimbo Architecture.
They will be supported by a steel structure recycled from the previous Summer Place pavilion, designed by Chrofi.
“The black curved form is sited askew to the orthogonal geometry of QEII, disrupting and creating a point of gravity within the space,” Martin said.
“The dynamic yet enigmatic exterior rewards curiosity, and as the viewer approaches the warm tones of the vertical timber slabs are revealed.
“Within the pavilion, each timber slab is unique, inviting close examination of these natural artworks. For a moment, the viewer is transported away from QEII, and the only experiences are that of the tall ‘forest’ of timbers – the smell and the touch.”
The pavilion aims to create discussions around the local environment, sustainability and the “meaning of summer” in the region.
Martin founded Akimbo Architecture in Albury in 2019, having worked over the previous decade at Casey Brown Architecture in Sydney. She is one of five winners of the 2021 Australian Institute of Architects’ Dulux Study Tour.
The Summer Place pavilion series is organized by the City of Albury. The inaugural pavilion was designed by Raffaello Rosselli Architect in 2018.
Source: Architecture - architectureau
