Green Innovators – Docking Life

VISUAL: Docking Life. Industrial Design student Jess Mew’s sustainable installation encourages people to experience and connect with nature in high-density, urban areas.  RMIT University logo.

AUDIO: Futuristic ambient electronic music, plays quietly in the background throughout the video.

VISUAL: Video wide-angle aerial camera shot rising from high above, showing blue sky and white clouds over the Melbourne Docklands harbour with boats moored in the water, surrounded by the buildings of the city of Melbourne.

JESS: As we are moving into high-density urban living, everyday opportunities for people to encounter…

VISUAL: Video fades into another aerial shot of Docklands, flying across the water taking in one side of the harbour, outdoor umbrellas are spotted along the embankment with structures build out into the harbour and moored boats.

JESS:.. tangible and healthy experiences of nature are being diminished. The Docking Life installation…

VISAUL: Video of Docklands buildings tilts down to the pavement to show a close up of a large open felt bag (pod) containing succulents (cactus etc.) Two young girls run past in the background.    

JESS:… encourages and enables communities to reconnect with natural systems and processes.

VISUAL: Video close up pans across two pods of succulents on the ground with the harbour and Bolte Bridge with cars driving across it in the background.

JESS: Using a series of pods, high volumes of people can be provoked to experience the benefits of nature.

VISUAL: Video of six clear empty disposable drink bottles, of varying shapes and sizes, bunched together on top of a black vinyl cube which sits on high-sheen polished floorboards in the middle of corridor of a building. Camera moves around the collected bottles while footage fades in another three empty bottles bunched in with the original six. The circular movement of the video of the bottles on top of the cube fades out and is replaced by Jess’ hands moving around a pod of succulents in the same circular movement.

JESS: The installation is made from 100 per cent recycled PET bottles collected by local people from the area.

VISUAL:  Video close up of Jess from the waist up, talking direct to camera while standing in the building corridor.

JESS: The bottles can then be shredded and made into a felt…

VISUAL: Video of Jess sitting at an outdoor table in a garden setting, with an empty pod in her hands she is cutting away thread with scissors. On the table there is another empty pod. In the background is the inside of an unpainted wooden fence, pods of succulents are placed around Jess’ seat and edible plants are growing behind her, being partially covered by a black mesh screen attached to the fence.  Video cuts to close up of Jess’ hands threading clear wire through the felt fabric of the pod.

JESS:...where they’re then cut and sewn into pods.

VISAUL: Video close up of Jess as earlier, talking direct to camera while standing in the building corridor.

JESS: This means the more bottles that are collected, the more pods can be made…

VISUAL: Video close up of Jess from waist up standing against a bare wooden fence with beams of sunlight shining against the fence. Jess is smiling, holding a pod full of succulents.

JESS:…allowing for a visual representation of how many bottles the community has recycled.

VISUAL: Video close up of empty disposable drink bottles being thrown from off-camera into a black wire mesh basket.

VISUAL: Video of wide-angle time-lapse footage showing Jess outside in a modern urban garden landscape, removing then replacing felt bags of succulents next to the planted greenery. The Bolte Bridge is visible in the background with cars driving across it.

JESS: People are also encouraged to be part of the life cycle of plants…

VISUAL: Video tight close up of the sharp spikes on a succulent.

JESS:… by taking cuttings from the pods and nurturing the cuttings at their home or office.

VISUAL: Video close up of pod containing succulents with urban garden landscape and electrical tower in the background, pans across to other succulents permanently planted in the garden.

JESS: Participants can then return to the installation with more cuttings, adding to the pods…   

VISUAL: Video close up of pof of succulents with trees in the background, camera pulls out to wider-angle frame revealing more of the garden background. 

JESS: …and continuing with the life cycle and movement of plants around the area.

VISUAL: Video close up of four pods filled with succulents on the high-screen floor of building corridor, Jess squats down beside the bags one-by-one and adjusts two of the bags with her hands, with footage overlayed as she moves around the bags. 

JESS: An important aspect of the design is its tangibility as its connection to people’s senses creates a more memorable experience…

VISUAL: Video close up of Jess as earlier, talking direct to camera while standing in the building corridor.

JESS:… enhancing the bond between people, recycling and nature.   

VISUAL: RMIT University logo. www.rmit.edu.au Aerial footage courtesy of Swarm UAV.

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