Every Living Thing:
Designing Habitats with Reef Design Lab
Free, bookings recommended
MPavilion
Queen Victoria Gardens
Opposite National Gallery of Victoria View map
![Designing Habitats with Reef Design Lab](https://mpavilion.org/assets/files/2025/01/REEF2.jpg)
Get beneath the surface of Reef Design Lab’s ecological habitats
For Every Living Thing, Reef Design Lab are taking to the pond to install one of their Modular Artificial Reef Structures—a tower of cascading nodules that’s designed to encourage the restoration of marine life.
Head to the pavilion to check out these blooming sculptural forms and hear from Alex Goad of Reef Design Lab and marine ecologist Dr Brendan Lanham as they discuss approaches to designing ecological habitats for biodiversity.
Moderated by neighbourhood wildlife scientist Dr Kylie Soanes, this conversation explores the intersections of art, design, education, and sustainability—and how we can all help shape the future of superorganisms.
Read
Ahead of the installation, we sat down with Alex Goad of Reef Design Lab to explore the role of artificial reefs as targeted restoration tools, a smarter way of using concrete in the ocean, and his collaborations with leading marine science organisations to create a more sustainable future underwater. Read the full interview here.
COLLABORATORS
Moderator: Dr Kylie Soanes
Kylie Soanes is a conservation biologist with her sights set on saving species in cities and towns. Whether it’s helping city councils plan corridors that move animals safely through cities, or working with architects to build designer houses for one of Australia’s largest owls, Kylie is always looking for new ways to help nature thrive in urban environments. Kylie is based at the University of Melbourne where she completed her PhD in 2015, building rope bridges to help endangered possums cross busy highways.
Alex Goad
Alex is a designer and artist based in Melbourne, Australia. Alex completed his Bachelors of Industrial Design at Monash University in 2013 spending his final Honours year developing MARS – Modular Artificial Reef Structure. The project won multiple awards and has been featured on BBC Earth, Dezeen, Australian Geographic, Popular Science Magazine, Discovery News, Huffington Post and CBS amongst others. The MARS design lead to Alex starting Reef Design Lab to continue the research into constructed marine habitats and to work closely with marine research organisations.
Dr Brendan Lanham
Brendan is a marine ecologist at The University of Melbourne with an interest in using eco-engineered structures to improve the restoration of degraded marine habitats. Since completing his PhD in 2019, Brendan’s research in restoration ecology has explored the use of textured substrates from concrete to biodegradable materials to restore southern Australia’s lost shellfish reefs.