Project: Yoorrook Justice Commission
Practice: BRM
Location: Melbourne, Victoria
Planex products: Linea Sliding Door Cabinet, Flox Planter Box
The Yoorrook Justice Commission is the first formal truth-telling process into historical and ongoing injustices experienced by First Peoples in Victoria. BRM’s senior designer Maya Feldmam worked with Yoorrook to help find and create a new home to support their work and community. As the Project team leader, Maya provided an end-to-end property and design service through extensive consultation and collaboration with Commissioners and local land custodians. The design itself and the design process strongly reflect First Peoples’ values and cultural considerations, leading to a warm and welcoming space for people to gather and tell their stories.
BRM’s Property and Design Team were honoured to provide our services to help support Yoorrook in creating a space for the hearings to take place. Planex’s Linea sliding door cabinet with the Buunhu Perforation pattern was specified for this project. The Buunhu (kangaroo grass) perforation design is one of 3 exclusive designs by First Nations designer Lucy Simpson from Gaawaamiyay studio for Planex. BRM in consultation with the client said that they were pleased to be able to select custom colours that reflected the local native landscape and that the product was made locally in Victoria.
The story translated in Lucy’s Buunhu design speaks of the vital role our native grasses play in sustaining ecological systems and communities. Native grasses, such as Kangaroo Grass, represent one of the many complex and interconnected systems of knowledge and cultural practice which work together to sustain life and continuities – providing the very fabric of wellbeing for both people and place.
Photography by Bonnie Savage