The Bench as an Armature for Remembrance: Memorial for Staff in the City of Greater Dandenong

The City of Greater Dandenong invited submissions for the design of a commemorative work through a limited tender process. The commemorative work was to honour staff of the City of Greater Dandenong who had passed away while employed. The memorial would be a place of reflection for colleagues, friends, family and the broader community. The design of the proposed memorial was developed by SueAnne Ware (Landscape Architect), Peter McFarlane and Fiona Bryant (Architects) in collaboration. The design proposed was a simple but poignant memorial; a designed bench with floral vessels sited within a field of flowers. The bench offers a site of repose, respite and reflection. The bench would eventually be relocated and other types of floral tributes or gestures could be incorporated in its new surrounds. The research contribution of this work is in the exploration of new memorial practices. Incorporating visitor engagement, interaction and public participation in the memorial bench as well as shifting attention from a memorial object to a landscape field. Far from normative statuary or conventional memorial objects, this work invites occupation, adornment, and even violation.The design team acknowledged that the work would be a public memorial and a gift from the council as a tribute to its dedicated workers. As such, while the work would serve a commemorative purpose the design would also be a space for people not necessarily engaged within a memorial context to interact with and enjoy.The design was shortlisted to three of twenty-five proposals, assessment conducted by a selection panel assembled by the City of Greater Dandenong.