How the MAPT project is reusing, reducing, and recycling

The Melbourne Arts Precinct Transformation is a historic city-shaping project in many ways.

It is the largest cultural infrastructure project in Australia’s history and the precinct is being designed with forward-thinking strategies around sustainability, biodiversity, and minimising carbon impact as a driving force.

With sustainability as a key focus, the project partners are looking at different ways to reuse, reduce, and recycle. One of the significant project milestones is the collaboration with Revival Projects, an Australian B Corp accredited existing materials consultant, which specialises in sustainable design and construction.

Revival was established with a unique ambition to make sustainable building practice more accessible to everyone. Over the next six years, Revival will be working closely with the project and design teams to explore how trees removed from the precinct for construction can be reused and repurposed through their urban tree recovery initiative.

Director of Revival Projects Robbie Neville explains how the urban tree recovery initiative can help to repurpose and reuse existing materials.

“Through this initiative, we can do something extremely special helping people utilise trees that need to be cut down,” Neville said. “When trees from our city need to be cut down or removed for construction, we have made it possible to approach this resource as responsible custodians. We’re here to help make the most of that resource and make it more accessible to use that resource.”

The removal of trees in the precinct is being done thoughtfully and professionally, taking into consideration the welfare of local wildlife, local biodiversity, the community’s connection to the trees and leading sustainability practices.

The trees from the area have been brought to Revival’s urban tree recovery facility in Collingwood, where they have begun the process of milling and exploring the most feasible applications for use in ways that are respectful of the materials, resourceful, and environmentally conscious.

The project partners are also working on another important initiative in terms of sustainability for the precinct – a new 18,000-square-metre urban garden. This expansive public space will be designed to change with the seasons, be climate resilient and foster biodiversity. When complete, it will add new green space to the heart of the Melbourne Arts Precinct for all visitors, workers, and local residents to enjoy. •

To learn more about the transformation, please visit artsprecinct.melbourne

Photo credit: Tom Graham.