Public Cooling House
Escape the Melbourne heat in the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria's 'cool' new space.
In partnership with 
Overview
A garden may not be the first place you'd think to head on a hot day, but that's about to change. Across three days in December, Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria's Melbourne Gardens will present an installation that'll keep you cool, while also delving into some big questions on the future of water.
Designed by Castlemaine-based live arts organisation Punctum, Public Cooling House is a temporary structure that offers shade and airflow. Ancient evaporative techniques and a range of soothing cooling pools also help to keep temperatures low.
Through a series of 30-minute guided sessions, an attendant will usher visitors through a special cooling experience. Some sessions will also be accompanied by musical performances featuring the likes of electro-pop trio Earworm, cellist Nikki Edgar and musicians Justin Marshall and Michiko Ogawa. There's also an engaging program of free talks that'll see experts from the Gardens offer their perspective on the environment's natural cooling systems and how heat waves, water scarcity and heat-induced blackouts might affect you in a hot future.
Public Cooling House is located on the Perennial Border of the Melbourne Gardens and will run 12–4pm, from Saturday, December 1 to Monday, December 3. For more information and to see the full schedule, head to the website.
Images: Morwenna Schenck and Diana Domonkos.
