project brief

objectives

The artwork aims to symbolise South Australia's commitment to the aspirations of a zero waste society and to raise public consciousness about environmental sustainability. Click here for the project fact sheet.

technical specifications

• Comply with all relevant Australian Standards, building codes and service authority requirements.
• Be made from low maintenance materials.
• Be easily cleaned to remove dirt, general grime and droppings (unless incorporated into the concept.)
• Be treated with anti graffiti coating.
• Take into account weathering and the chemical reaction of bird droppings.
• Ensure the work has a minimal impact on the environment and identify and manage likely issues in consultation with Department for Environment and Heritage, City of Port Adelaide Enfield and Department for Transport, Infrastructure and Energy.
• There is no provision for access to power or lighting.
• The current street lighting plan for the Port River Expressway cannot be altered as part of the design proposal.

the design

• The concept for Zero Waste Lifeline resulted from a professional development workshop for design practitioners and artists called Xpress 06.
• Collaboration with a range of design disciplines introduced fresh ways of resolving the challenges inherent in the project brief.

When we're faced with a design challenge, when we have to form a collaborative team, how might we understand all the systematic elements and influences that we'll have to integrate so that the best solution can emerge?

With a public art project, for example, how might we understand not only the 'site' and its energies, opportunities, tendencies and materials, but also how might we understand the 'client', 'the brief', the 'team' and what it means to collaborate?... the questions and the mysteries are usually the real energy in a good process of design or artistic practice.

And while most experienced practitioners will confess that the process never gets easier, they will usually admit that there are techniques you can rely on to coax something composed out of chaos or befuddlement.

Workshop facilitator Ross Gibson, Professor for New Media and Digital Culture, University of Technology.