Pezo von Ellrichshausen’s Canberra pavilion is a sculpture and a gathering space

Chilean practice studio Pezo von Ellrichshausen has unveiled its first project in Australia – an ‘artchitectural’ pavilion in Canberra that is part art installation, part viewing platform.

The structure is built with 36 jutting concrete and a circular ramp that leads up to a viewing platform overlooking Dairy Road – a new development by Molonglo, transforming the formerly industrial enclave of the Aussie capital into a mixed-use neighbourhood.

Explains Pezo von Ellrichshausen: ‘This is a pavilion without a name. It is a nameless pavilion; less than a structure, an infrastructure. It is an idiosyncratic place that refuses to be called in a single manner, with a single word.’

When viewed from afar, the monolithic structure is reminiscent of a giant block of silvery rebar – a skeleton awaiting activation. LESS straddles a stream that runs through and down its identical columns, which are arranged in a six-by-six grid. Some 6,000 plants have been sewn alongside the pavilion, most of which are indigenous to the area, which will gradually root it to the site and turn it into a thriving mini-ecosystem.

And like Dairy Road itself, the structure is designed for mixed-use. It can be admired as both an artwork and used as a public space for gathering and observing the changes to the urban landscape.