Weave
Vania Djunaidi

Weaving our historical landscape through our present urban environment.

Currently, laneway activation is limited in Sydney. Like Kimberly Lane in Chinatown Sydney, many existing laneways with public art have unfortunately been abandoned. On the other hand, new laneways have been designed and activated as a commercial strip. But what if laneways serve as a nature strip that promotes Indigenous culture for everyone to learn and enjoy?

Weave is a public space proposal which celebrates Indigenous native landscape and pays respect to Sydney’s natural landscape pre-colonisation. The proposal reactivates dead laneways as a nature
strip of native, indigenous plants with permeable pedestrian pathway and seating. It becomes a living museum which narrates and weaves our historical past within the negative spaces of our built environment. It becomes a place of cultural understanding between non-Indigenous and Indigenous peoples. Weave will be transformational as plants will be planted according to its season. Therefore, each season will provide a range of Indigenous plants that are suited to its climatic condition.

The proposal delivers a great public space as it seeks to educate existing Sydneysiders Indigenous perspective of indigenous plants, that holds rich cultural and ecological belonging of Indigenous peoples. In addition to its cultural benefits, they have evolved in the local environment, very hardy and require little water, making them sustainable and affordable to maintain. Introducing indigenous landscapes within our cities means introducing biodiversity of providing corridors for native animals and to the larger ecosystem. Introducing natural landscape assist in the mental wellbeing of human health as well as improving stormwater