A Day on the Beach

We are Team One.

We have a beach. Or at least the beginnings of one, and hopefully the beginnings of a new vision for the docklands of Melbourne. The district wants life, energy, and the character to reach its full potential as central piece of the city. To do that, it needs to be able to make an impact on the people.














It needs to energize the streets, providing a place and reason for people to be there.









It needs to gather people together, friends, families, and strangers so that the place can be infrastructure that facilitates what impacts people most: other people.







It needs to interact with its users, empowering them to find their own calling to be in the docklands.










A beach does these things. Sand brings people together and inspires a playfulness that can remind us of our childhood. Sand is not magic dust that can simply be applied, a literal beach in the docklands is a lovely fantasy. This installation hopes to make a statement about what could be. The life and activity encapsulated by the beach could happen in the docklands, with or without a sandy shore.


Sand, that you can see but can not touch, reminds us of the similar condition of Docklands water, ever present, but never close. A beach is public, a resource that is free to enjoy without purchasing a cup of coffee. The beach is continuous and connected, making walking both possible, and pleasant.








If these things could be said about the docklands, if the docklands had less ambiguous public and private space, a connection with the water, and more public seating, the area would have more energy, interaction, and places to gather. Our experiment with an urban beach installation seeks to show this potential.