A new ambiguous landmark for canberra’s dairy road

LESS is the latest intervention at Dairy Road in Canberra by Chilean art-and-architecture studio Pezo von Ellrichshausen. Conceived as an intentionally ambiguous spatial device, the structure resists straightforward definition. Instead of prescribing a fixed use, it opens itself to the evolving community, inviting residents and visitors to inhabit its volumes, pause within its shadows, and define its meaning through occupation. In a neighbourhood undergoing transformation, LESS positions itself as a landmark and gathering place that remains open-ended by design.

A CONCRETE FRAMEWORK SHAPED BY WATER, LANDSCAPE AND MOVEMENT

The project takes the form of thirty-six concrete columns arranged around a circular ramp that rises to an elevated viewing platform. A continuous shallow stream of water travels through the columns, its shifting pools and flows activating the architecture with a gentle sonic and tactile presence. This slow circulation recreates a meditative quality within what was once an industrial setting, encouraging moments of stillness as well as movement.

Surrounding the structure, more than six thousand plants representing over fifty species are gradually reshaping the ground plane. Many of these species are native to Canberra and echo the pre-colonial ecology recognised in the six seasons of the Ngunnawal calendar. As the vegetation takes hold and grows, the area will transition from its industrial past toward a softer, immersive terrain that stands in dialogue with the concrete grid.

Seen from above, the project’s strict geometry registers as a square with a two-to-three elevation ratio, its repetition of columns forming a structural rhythm free of hierarchy. The architects describe LESS as “less than a structure, an infrastructure,” a place that refuses singular categorisation. Its monotony becomes a form of generosity, offering frames rather than dictating functions. This open, unlabelled spatial condition allows for informal encounters, contemplation, temporary events or simply passing through.

A PLACE FOR CONTEMPLATION WITHIN A CHANGING URBAN LANDSCAPE

From the upper platform, visitors gain a panoramic view of Dairy Road, imagining its future as the district continues to shift from industrial zone to cultural precinct. Below, the acoustic interplay of running water, wind and concrete amplifies the experience of being within a transforming environment. LESS becomes a lens through which to observe that transformation, a quiet intervention that blends public art, architectural form and landscape restoration.

In its stillness and its movement, its mass and its porosity, LESS embodies the paradoxes that define contemporary urban change. It stands as a new social and ecological anchor for Dairy Road, offering a space that is both resolutely material and profoundly open to interpretation.

Project Credit

Client: Molonglo
Architect: Pezo von Ellrichshausen (Mauricio Pezo & Sofia von Ellrichshausen)
Collaborators: Fabian Puller, Olga Herrenbrücks, Amelie Bès
Local Architect: Dezignteam
Structure: Northrop
Landscape Architect: Oculus
Construction: Creative Building Services
Material: Reinforced concrete
Photo: Rory Gardiner