Alexsandra Pontonio: Knot Pine

Come along to Walsh Street to celebrate Knot Pine through a Melbourne Design Week talk with furniture maker, Alexsandra Pontonio, exploring the creative process from design to prototype.

Until 2019, a 25-metre-tall heritage-listed Monterey pine stood before the Walsh Street residence that architect, writer and cultural critic Robin Boyd designed for his family in 1957. The tree died, and the Robin Boyd Foundation’s supply of felled timber provides an opportunity to consider its second life. The community admired the tree when living; now milled, pine is commonly viewed as a ‘cheap’ or ’ugly’ material unsuitable for fine craftsmanship. Embracing pine’s democratic role in 20th-century industrial history, including modernist approaches. The Foundation has commissioned furniture maker Alexsandra Pontonio to design a seated solution for the timber supply.