DECOMMISSION

Since the inception of colonialism in the Volcanic Plains of Western Victoria, the Werribee River has been dammed, redirected, and extracted with irreversible consequences. This appropriated methodology seeks to use infrastructure to regulate and starve the water source, to redistribute it for agricultural needs.

Originating in The Great Dividing Range, the Werribee river erodes and deposits sediment along it’s course.

Our site, Melton Reservoir, is within Wadawurrung country. The river defines the northernmost point of the Western Grassland Reserve boundary, which has been allocated for public acquisition by the Victorian Government.

This has formed the key interrogation of the 
of the studio as we consider how land management and architectural interventions can strengthen and protect the ecological diversity of native grasslands.

The studio invites us to explore this territory and consider the political, historical and environmental agendas which influence its management and care.

Furthermore, we look to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander traditional ways of knowing and caring for country to inform future land management strategies for the site.