Melbourne Fashion Week 2030 Future Focused Fashion Stage
future focused design concept
Adopting a strong industrial influence, the proposed stage for Melbourne Fashion Week 2030 hosted within the historical Royal Exhibition Building does not mask its rawness of materiality. Celebrating the developmental direction of the city of Melbourne by utilising a steel construction, the stage requires less custom pieces than prefabricated and existing materials. Steel is considered a sustainable material due to its strength and endless ability to be recycled. Projections of population growth in Melbourne for 2030 show that Melbourne will become Australia’s most populous city, requiring immense infrastructure improvements and construction. It is likely steel will be a primary construction material within these projects. With increasing population comes greater event attendance and tourism; fashion festivals will become larger, retail will operate at greater rates, requiring a smoother, more extensive public transport system that can facilitate this ease of activity. Public benches and seats will be used more than ever, creating spaces for interaction within public settings. The use of Ollerton M3 chairs within the stage highlights this direction, already being utilised as Melbourne’s most popular public seating design.
All pieces in this design have the ability to be re-used within the public and development settings of the city. There is no denying the exponential growth Melbourne is encountering, it is a responsibility to acknowledge this direction and use materials and circular practices that allow for a conscious future as well as celebrate more sustainable and responsible design.
Designing with a future focus, the concept details a response to the exponential growth and development of Melbourne’s urban environments. Utilising typical construction materials, the design celebrate the city’s growth, while using materials that can be physically re-used within the city’s construction projects.