Final Design Launch for Laak Boorndap at Melbourne Arts Precinct

The final design for the urban park surrounding the National Gallery of Victoria and the Arts Centre in the Melbourne Arts Precinct has been released to the public. Laak Boorndap was chosen as the name for the park, given by Wurundjeri Language Elder Woi-wurrung. Aunty Gail Smith explained that the name was chosen to honor and introduce visitors to Wurundjeri Country and to represent First Peoples's culture across the Arts Precinct. It means a beautiful place for everyone to come and learn about our country and our Wurundjeri ancestors. It is not just a place name; it brings together Sky Country, heaven, and everyone back on sacred land.

A View of Laak Boorndap (cr: Melbourne Arts Precinct)

Spread over an area of ​​18,000 square meters between City Road and Southbank Boulevard, the park is not only designed as a public space that functions as a tourist attraction for tourists and locals but also serves as an access route between Princes Bridge, Southbank Boulevard, and the Arts Precinct. After completion, the park will also be used as a venue for various performances, workshops, and events.

The garden will feature a range of climate-resilient plants designed by Melbourne-based international design studio Hassell and New York firm SO-IL, with horticulturalists Nigel Dunnett and James Hitchmough and Melbourne company Super Bloom’s plant expert Jac Semmler. With raised planting decks, the garden will stand out as a unique contemporary garden design in its planting density, scale and climate resilience.

The Garden Features a Mult-Layered Planting Design (cr: Melbourne Arts Precinct)

The Garden Will Surround The New Fox: NGV Contemporary Building (cr: Melbourne Arts Precinct)

Taking advantage of Melbourne’s relatively mild winters, careful consideration was given to selecting plants to create a garden that thrives all year round. Plants include a range of introduced native species including trees, perennials, grasses and flora. The diversity of plants and the layered planting design aims to create a constantly evolving landscape that looks different each season. The garden is themed into six zones with different names, each reflecting its own theme.

Interactions at Laak Boorndap (cr: Melbourne Arts Precinct)

An Aerial Render View of Laak Boorndap (cr: Melbourne Arts Precinct)

Ben Duckworth, Hassell’s principal, said Laak Boorndap would be a place for people to connect with nature and each other, art and performance. Complementing a rich array of planting throughout the year, Laak Boorndap will feature contemporary art and activations including new First Peoples artwork commissions. A fusion of culture and nature in the heart of the city. The park will be home to contemporary sculptures and installations from the NGV and Arts Centre Melbourne collections, open to the public both day and night, creating a harmonious relationship between the park and the surrounding arts and cultural institutions. Katrina Sedgwick, director and chief executive of the Melbourne Arts Precinct Corporation, said the new space provides biodiversity, beauty and social connection in diverse and ever-changing ways. The park will be a destination, building connectivity and well-being for visitors, residents, and workers. Laak Boorndap is part of the Melbourne Arts Precinct’s transformation masterplan, a major project that will include the creation of a new contemporary art gallery for the National Gallery of Victoria called NGV Contemporary and the upgrade of the Arts Centre Melbourne Theatres. The project is scheduled to start in 2026 and is expected to be completed in 2028.