Many people regard Melbourne as having the best architecture, the best street trees and the best restaurants of any capital city in Australia. However there are some local residents who are saying that inner city Melbourne is just a bit grey and drab. Don Burke discussed this with landscape architect, Martin Davis.
Grey colour
There appears to be a monotony of grey in Melbourne on a cloudy day with grey roads, grey gutters, grey footpath, grey buildings and grey skies. There are restrictions on building materials permitted in Melbourne with only blue stone and asphalt used for paving which creates a drab environment. The Flinders Street Station and the Swanston Walk are two examples of streetscapes that feature the monotony of grey with no vibrant colours to lift them.
One example of some spark of colour in Melbourne is the Dye Works Park in Prahran which uses different coloured concretes in different patterns with different coloured stone. Perhaps a hint of colour in Melbourne would lift the spirits of the inner city similar to Martha Schwartz’s use of colour in garden design in the United States.
Further information
What do you think? We would like to hear whether you think the greyness of Melbourne is class and serenity or whether you think it is a little bit drab and dull. Write to:
Burke’s Backyard, PO Box 929, Willoughby, NSW, 2068 and tell us what you think about the city of Melbourne.
Contact Martin Davis, landscape architect, from Landarche Pty Ltd, Melbourne Landscape Architects, 7 Almeida Crescent, South Yarra, VIC, 3141. Phone: (03) 9826 2049 or fax: (03) 9826 8999.
Martha Schwartz is based in the United States. She can be contacted at:
Martha Schwartz Inc.
Room 310
25 Mount Auburn Street
Cambridge MA 02138
Phone: (0011) 1 617 661 8141. Fax: (0015) 1 617 661 8707
To see photographs of some of Martha’s landscape designs consult:
* Martha Schwartz – Transfiguration of the Commonplace (Spacemaker Press, 1997) ISBN 1 888931 01 9.
* Designing the New Landscape by S. Lyall (Florilegium Press)