At the annual Melbourne Cup Carnival in Flemington, Melbourne, the thrill of thoroughbred horse racing ties neck and neck with the spectacle of The Birdcage. It’s the exclusive invitation-only zone where temporary sponsor pavilions assembled and fitted-out over several months vie for design accolades and media attention.
Odds on favourite, The Lexus Design Pavilion, leads the competition with its most sophisticated and challenging creation to date. Inspired by a theme synonymous with Lexus’ 2015 presentation at Milan Design Week – 'Journey of the Senses' – guests are immersed in an all-encompassing sensory experience.
'Each year we work on what we call a pursuit of perfection. We improve, innovate and are bold with the project,' enthuses Adrian Weimers, corporate manager for Lexus Australia.
The exterior of the three-storey pavilion is densely entwined with thousands of metres of recycled wire. Sustainable design expert, Joost Bakker, intricately twisted the material to recreate an enormous bird’s nest of rusted copper-toned roots.
Stepping inside, the nest unravels to showcase drinking, dining and lounge areas furnished by Miriam Fanning, director of Mim Design Studio. She interprets the ‘growth into fruition’ design brief with a palette ranging from soothing pistachio to rich emerald tones for plush velvet upholstery, through to textured floor finishes, and the use of vertical timber framing painted white to create an alpine-fresh, forest-like setting. Bunches of pink tulips with their bulbs attached are suspended throughout. Completing the Arcadian fantasy is artist Georgie Seccull’s wall feature comprising a kaleidoscope of exquisitely detailed white paper butterflies.
The pavilion’s custom-designed wallpaper with abstract green tones printed onto a metallic silver surface plays with the notion of reflection whilst the sheen of the Carrara marble bar and table surfaces add polished elegance. This concept is echoed in the upstairs restaurant where Ben Shewry, from the esteemed Melbourne fine diner Attica, offers four-course lunches with a focus on native ingredients. Here, Bakker’s nest theme is translated in miniature, with circular mirrors suspended from entangled wires over each dining table, reflecting Shewry’s whimsical offerings.
Setting out to 'transport Lexus guests beyond the racetrack, into a world of state-of-the-art design, it’s hard to believe the pavilion is a temporary structure', says Fanning of the carnival, which spans just six days.
The pavilion’s entry showcases the new luxury Lexus New Generation RX vehicle as interpreted by Nicolas Hogios, chief designer at Lexus Australia. A life-size polystyrene foam sculpture chiseled by a 5-Axis machine imitates the sharp angular design of the new model. It subtly changes form towards its rear, morphing into abstraction, and eventually melting into a curved mirror that replicates its body in infinity.
The most prestigious race, the Cup itself, takes place today (3 November). Bets are on that once Lexus guests enter the enchanted pavilion, the event itself may gallop into oblivion.
Guests are immersed in an all-encompassing sensory experience, sampling drinks and dinner in the lounge area furnished by Miriam Fanning
The dining area is set in a mixed palette of 'soothing pistatio' and 'rich emerald'
The Lexus Pavilion is the place to be for those who want to relax after the on-track excitement of the race
The Pavilion transports guests 'beyond the racetrack', but keeps the notion of speed firmly their heads with a foam-sculpted New Generation RX parked in the entrance hall
The Birdcage also houses a Georgie Seccull feature-wall of exquisitely detailed white paper butterflies
INFORMATION
The Melbourne Cup Carnival runs until 5 November
-
Highlights from the transporting Cruise 2026 showsThe Cruise 2026 season began yesterday with a Chanel show at Lake Como, heralding the start of a series of jet-setting, destination runway shows from fashion’s biggest houses
-
Behind the design of national pavilions in Venice: three studios to knowDesigning the British, Swiss and Mexican national pavilions at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025 are three outstanding studios to know before you go
-
Premium patisserie Naya is Mayfair’s latest sweet spotHeritage meets opulence at Naya bakery in Mayfair, London. With interiors by India Hicks and Anna Goulandris, the patisserie looks good enough to eat
-
9 things to see at Melbourne Design Week 2023Melbourne Design Week 2023 (18 – 28 May 2023) follows a theme of ‘Design The World You Want’
-
Discover Melbourne Design Week 2022Discover the best of Melbourne Design Week 2022, from thematic exhibitions to the first design fair in the city, to talks and events
-
Melbourne Design Week returns for 2021 editionNow in its fifth consecutive year, Melbourne Design Week (26 March – 5 April 2021) returns with a multi-site program of design activations and provocations under a compelling theme: ‘Design the world you want’
-
Melbourne’s NGV Triennial presents a radical design re-thinkCombining design ingenuity with scientific research, these global designers have created new materials and methods that can change the way we build our architectures and produce our objects, and through their project they raise awareness towards global ecological issues
-
‘If we must wear masks, then let them be glorious!’Designed by architect and designer Tosin Oshinowo and textile and furniture designer Chrissa Amuah in collaboration with Lexus, this collection of headpieces merges concepts of protection, ornamentation, functionality and celebration, drawing inspiration from a mix of cultural influences
-
Melbourne Design Week asks ‘How can design shape life?’Our edit of exhibitions to see at Melbourne Design Week 2020
-
A Surrealist parlour game inspires these new marquetry piecesThree new marquetry pieces by Adam&Arthur, inspired by a Surrealist parlour game, make their debut at Melbourne Design Week this week
-
Instagram taps Germans Ermičs for Technicolor pavilion in the French Riviera
