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In 2013, Landscape Designer Phillip Johnson, Horticulturalist Wes Fleming and the Trailfinders Team, designed and installed the award winning ‘Australia Garden’ at the prestigious Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Chelsea Flower Show in London. This was the first Australian entry to win Gold and Best in Show!
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Ten years on, Phillip Johnson Landscapes recreated this incredible award-winning Australian Garden in the beautiful Dandenong Ranges Botanic Garden, Olinda, (Wurundjeri Country). This new garden is located on a section of the former Olinda Golf Course and is more than twentyfold the size of the original Chelsea Flower Show exhibit.
This stunning botanic garden supports biodiversity and habitat through the creation of important native habitats for native plants and animals in the area and features more than 15,000 plants from over 400 native Australian species. It includes rare and endangered species such as the Wollemi Pine (Wollemia nobilis), which is listed as critically endangered and other precious species. As the garden matures, it encourages wildlife such as birds, bees, butterflies, and other pollinators, which are so important for the environment.
Collaborating (once again) with the talented teams at Phillip Johnson Landscapes and Lump Sculpture Studio, Decibel Architecture has reinterpreted the original Waratah Studio (and the dialogue between architecture and landscape), reimagined here in a permanent, Corten® laser cut reality, and enabling a filigree permanent installation of the original timber studio. Built within this stunning Australian landscape, the new sculpture is an anchor to a brilliant and engaging garden that both recreates and builds on the original Chelsea installation, and profoundly enhances the natural beauty of the Olinda environment with a stunning display of Australian endemic species and waterways.
The Waratah Studio was designed to pay homage, not only to the original form in the award-winning Chelsea Garden of 2013, but also to the living embodiment of this iconic Australian bloom. Drawing visitors into this stunning natural setting, the Waratah Studio’s striking form acts as a beacon – inviting locals and tourists to connect to this special place and to develop a greater appreciation of the Australian environment that importantly thrives and survives in challenging conditions.
In its built form, the geometric petals of this abstracted Waratah are arranged to create a pavilion that sits above and within an Australian landscape of deep reds, yellows, greens, remnant of the waratah flower’s pop of colour, complementing the beautiful surrounding landscape. The pavilion sits at the edge of the natural billabong and creates a landmark to sit and rest beneath.
Differing from the original sculpture, the studio’s petals are made from laser cut 3mm Corten® steel, allowing for a more lightweight, permanent, and elegant geometry. The delicate petals create dappled light and shadow, disappearing at certain points in the interior when viewed from certain angles. The material was chosen for its ability to patina into warm, rust-orange tones, complementing the surrounding native garden, and revealing the natural weathering.
The steel petals are supported on four inclined CHS tube legs which gently twist up from the ground to intersect with the internal frame. To fabricate the complex form, a jig was erected in the factory warehouse, allowing the form and structural connections of the steel members to be tested before being installed on site.
Each column is connected via horizonal arms that join using a bespoke splice connection, which provides necessary moment connections and rigidity for the structure. The supporting structure required on-site assembly, demanding deeply accurate fabrication to ensure the maximum load-bearing efficiency.
Sustainability was paramount in this project and underpinned all design and construction decisions throughout the design and build, and beyond. The sustainable and water-wise garden design includes an integrated bushfire protection system, solar power, and the clever use of recycled and reclaimed materials, such as seating which was lovingly recrafted from the Dandenong Ranges storm recovery program.
Decibel Architecture also looked to prefabrication technology to construct the Waratah Studio sustainably. The large steel petals (in varying shapes and intricate cut-out forms) were laser cut in Melbourne to avoid unnecessary transport. As well as allowing for quick construction of this complex design, the process of laser cutting the geometry also reduced the margin of error and resulted in the most efficient material usage and minimising waste. Repetition and modularity were designed into the assembled cube faces, enabling them to be shipped to site in six preformed elements, and assembled on a bespoke Corten® cube that defines the carved-out interior of the original pavilion.
The amenity created by this natural wonderland is unparalleled. From its opening in April 2023, the Chelsea Australia Garden Olinda and Waratah Studio has attracted a huge number of visitors who come to enjoy the tranquil surrounds and to rediscover the beauty of the native Australian garden.
Text: Stephaine Brady
Images: Decibel Architecture, Phillip Johnson Landscapes, John Gollings, Claire Takacs
