Jack Merlo: Reimagining the Japanese Garden
Much like the Lexus car, Jack Merlo’s landscape designs feature clean and contemporary lines. For this year’s Lexus Design Pavilion, Merlo has reimagined the Japanese garden, with plenty of dark detailing to tie into the Pavilion’s interiors.
For Merlo, the partnership with Lexus could not have been more perfect. “We share an aesthetic and design background, so it seemed to be the right story,” he says.
Tell us about your studio, and what you’ll be creating for this year’s Lexus Design Pavilion.
We’re a leading Australian landscape architecture studio based in Melbourne. Our work is quite diverse. We work on residential and multi residential projects, as well as a range of commercial projects. We also work closely with a range of architects, designers and developers.
For the Lexus Design Pavilion, we’ll be creating a landscape with plenty of clean and contemporary lines, which certainly ties in with the Lexus design aesthetic.
The landscape definitely has Japanese influences, but it’s not the typical Japanese aesthetic of, say, cherry blossoms. It’s more of a contemporary and stylised interpretation, with just a few clean and simple elements.
There will be lots of dark detailing, which will act as a reference point for the interior of the marquee. The landscape design will feature cylindrical plants in different heights, such as Japanese maple, Chinese elms, star jasmine, bamboo, plenty of foliage and contrasting shapes and colours, but no florals. There will also be some sculptural trees near the entry to the marquee.
The Lexus Design Pavilion is Lexus Australia’s key annual design project and reflects the timeless craftsmanship within every Lexus vehicle. Can you talk us through your design philosophies, and how your landscape ties in with the heritage of the Lexus brand?
We wanted to evoke feelings of soft, welcoming refinement. Our guiding philosophy was that the landscape needed to be cohesive, connecting with the interiors, so that it all flows together. We wanted guests to feel like the landscape was a welcoming environment. For this reason of welcoming refinement, we felt it was the right fit, the right story, to work with Lexus on this project.
What does the Melbourne Cup Carnival mean to you, and how does it feel to be a part of it in such an intimate way?
It’s just a fantastic opportunity to be involved in this prestigious and important marquee. The Lexus Melbourne Cup is such an institution, and it’s an honour to be invited to contribute to the marquee and to share it with other collaborators.
