Australia’s exhibition at the twenty-fourth Milan Triennale, commissioned by Monash University, has opened today under the event’s theme Inequality. Creatives from Monash Art, Design and Architecture have responded with an exhibit titled Australia: Land Use Inequality, which the university says seeks “to reveal how Melbourne’s focus on housing growth has led to environmental neglect.”
Representing Australia at the exhibition are Monash Urban Lab’s professor Louise Wright, associate professor Catherine Murphy and professor Nigel Bertram, alongside creatives Eugene Perepletchikov and Ziga Testen, and Baracco and Wright Architects’ Mauro Baracco. They are assisted by Qing Yu and Nicole Formaran.
The team’s exhibition features large-scale video works that aim to highlight the environmental toll of Australia’s sprawling urban footprint, which includes damage to habitats, biodiverse ecosystems and culturally significant First Nations sites.
Reflecting on the impetus for Australia’s exhibit, Wright commented, “In recent years, a significant population increase, tax policies and inflation has led to a housing supply and affordability crisis in Melbourne. To address this crisis, large supplies of land continue to be rezoned on the city’s edge for low-rise housing that can be delivered quickly.”
“These lands hold ecological values essential for the life of vegetation, animals, birds and insects endemic to Australia, and some under threat of extinction,” she continued. “Yet despite the critical need to protect this non-human life, inefficient land use continues.”
A release from the curatorial team notes that Australia has some of the largest house footprints and most sprawling cities in the world, with Melbourne being the country’s most populous but least dense city.
Three instances of the city’s development pattern at its fringes are captured in the video installation. The first is in Beveridge in northern Melbourne, where, according to the curators, greenfield residential development impacts Volcanic Plains grasslands, of which less than one percent remains.
In the south-east suburb of Cranbourne, the team notes that the removal of vegetation, construction of fences and introduction of domestic animals accompanying new housing disrupt the fragile wildlife corridor of the endangered Southern Brown Bandicoot. Meanwhile, new housing estates in the west encroach on First Nations’ cultural landscapes, including ceremonial earthen Bora Rings.
Murphy noted the aim of the exhibit is to raise awareness about these land use patterns and advocate for greater equality between humans and other species.
“Australia is home to many unique endemic species, and with that comes a global responsibility to protect them and ensure their survival,” she said. “We must align with international commitments that support reduced land clearing and greater respect for non-human life. We need to explore alternative housing models that prioritise urban greening and biodiversity.”
According to Bertram, research from the Monash Urban Lab focuses on promoting equality in the urban environment.
“Some of our research examines retrofitting and infilling housing to create a more compact city, one that can also make more space for natural ecosystems,” he said.
The Milan Triennale is open to the public from Tuesday 13 May to Sunday 9 November 2025.
Source: Architecture - architectureau
