Sculptural Artwork Installation for Dapto Mall by Di Emme

Series of pods suspended above the Dapto Mall food court.

Dapto Mall Sculptural Artwork Inspired by Native Flora

Wollongong's Dapto Mall is undergoing a major refurbishment including a reinvigorated food court where shoppers can relax and enjoy a range of cuisines with comfortable seating in contemporary surrounds. AMP Capital enlisted Code Design to create a welcoming space that would bring nature and a feel of the outdoors, indoors. The colour palette is green, earthy, and natural.

Di Emme was engaged to create a sculptural artwork installation that would be the jewel in the crown, soaring above the revitalised dining space. The brief was to design an artistic work inspired by Australian native flora.

Di Emme Project Manager, Jacob Pemble said; "Projects like this are very tactile and only really come to life through physical sampling.

"We produced multiple prototypes to demonstrate our ideas to the clients and the designers. We made a scale model of the entire installation, provided material samples, and created elements on a one-to-one scale.

"There were a number of stakeholders and the challenge was to produce an artwork that would meet everyone's expectations."

The final piece resembles a series of pod-like structures. The "pods" were hand fabricated and clad in wire mesh at Di Emme's Leichhardt studio. The sculpture's metallic palette reflects the surrounding details in the food court.

Sculptural Artwork Installation for Dapto Mall by Di Emme