Dimensional Perfection – LESS by Pezo von Ellrichshausen

Aligned to dimensional perfection, a cubic cluster of 36 concrete pillars soar into the sky of Dairy Road in Canberra. Meshing art with public space, LESS presents a composed and compelling sculptural profile that attracts exploration by a burgeoning community.

The structure is the first project on Australian soil by Chilean art and architecture studio Pezo von Ellrichshausen. Conceived as a landmark element of the developing locale’s social environment, LESS confidently summons Dairy Road’s emerging population while honouring its position on Ngunnawal land.

Conceived as a landmark element of the developing locale’s social environment, LESS confidently summons Dairy Road’s emerging population while honouring its position on Ngunnawal land.

Actualised as a living art piece that is set to flourish in tandem with its neighbourhood, LESS houses a collection of thousands of individual plants – including many endemic to the region. Though juvenile and somewhat dwarfed by the towering concrete columns that comprise its current focal form, the natural evolution of each plant is set to yield a transformation to the site. As seasons progress, (the Ngunnawal calendar observes six per year) the greenery will grow across the site, begetting an ever-changing botanical landscape reminiscent of the pre-colonial environment.

LESS is imbued with an intended ambiguity, allowing its lofty presence to serve those who encounter it without definition. It is a gathering place of contemplation and calm – nurturing life while encouraging curiosity and sustaining explorative interaction between people, form and Country.

Wind hisses through the labyrinth of plinths while inquisitive souls listen and wander its gridded network of passageways.

Although firmly rooted by a robust materiality, movement is an inherent aspect of LESS’s design. Channels of space between columns sees open corridors created. Wind hisses through the labyrinth of plinths while inquisitive souls listen and wander its gridded network of passageways. A circular, winding ramp affords a journey to the upper level’s viewing platform. The walkway’s balustrade echoes LESS’s linear repetition on a quieter scale and introduces the softness of a curve that is continued in ripples of water moving gently over staggered falls. Pooling at the base, the streams of water are injected skyward to trickle down each pillar in a perpetual cycle of spilling and collection.

LESS stoically spears the surrounding landscape with magnificent height and hardy composition, all while retaining a sense of light ambience thanks to its generous involvement of air, flora and water. Equally as impactful from a distance as up-close, Pezo von Ellrichshausen has crafted a place of monolithic proportion that articulates its own ecosystem and engages with the senses on a breadth of scales. Even the negative space sandwiched between pillars presents energetic palpability owing to the life coursing heartily through it.