Jessica Gaudry

Bunjil, the creator spirit of the Kulin Nation, crafted the Birrarung. With H2O continuously cycling and recycling itself throughout space and time, the water of the Birrarung is constantly flowing, hydrologically, and also spiritually as a songline across Country. The Birrarung is a single living entity, deeply connected to Country and it’s Traditional Custodians, the Woi Wurrung and Boon Wurrung language groups of the Kulin Nation. Today it also shares itself with rural and highly urbanised communities.

The word Birrarung translates to river of mists and shadows in the Woi Wurrung language. Shadows have existed from the very beginning, when the sun (Ngua in Woi Wurrung) first shone and brightened our world. Nowadays shadows tend to conjure up images of darkness, fear and the unknown. In recent times culture, stories and the natural world, including the Birrarung have been forced into the shadows of our built-up city life. But as Jefa Greenaway recently said, ‘Country will always exist, even if it’s been concreted over’.

Adapting the Great Birrarung Parklands to the highly urbanised, tightly constrained city environment requires a re-framing of what public green space can be and where. The city is filled with void or unused spaces. When space is at a premium, opportunities must be found outside the typical ‘park’ typology, as a way to retrofit the constraints. The concept of this project is to explore a new narrative in which shadows are no longer places of hiding, but places of learning and celebration; culture, stories and vegetation are seen and given room to grow, and water is valued and cleaned before it enters the main Birrarung channel.

Driven by the accumulated histories of the site, stories of Country and place are woven to the surface through collaboration and co-design with Indigenous Elders, to allow Country to be highlighted and recognised amongst the heavy scars of the industrial road revolution and ever growing spread of urbanisation. By daylighting and visibly addressing our waste water, we create a cue to care, to be more in tune with our environment and what it does for us and the life around us. A Living Shadow pedestrian bridge and Floodplain Treatment Park offer opportunities for testing the unrealised potential of local indigenous plants. Even amongst the tightest or ugliest of urban spaces we can find opportunities to tell a different story.

booklet
View booklet (on issuu)