Vigil, Sydney Festival, 2025

The Vigil pavilion was conceived as a space for being heard, for sharing knowledge, and for presenting First Nations' visions for the future. Inspired by the traditional Gunyah, Vigil was designed in collaboration with Jake Nash, curator of Sydney Festival’s “Blak Out” program and The Vigil.

The modular structure was made of a series of bamboo-bundle columns, steel cables and a teatree brush canopy. Designed to be erected in only three days, The Vigil combines the warmth and craft of natural materials with the functionality and efficiency of steel cable rigging and screw anchors.

The canopy comprises fifteen triangular netting panels that hang from the cables, describing soft three-dimensional catenary curves. The tea tree cladding provides both shade and texture, a dappled pattern like the one you find under a tree.

At the centre, above the sand stage, an oculus crowns the space, shining natural light on the main act.

The layout was designed to serve as a space for talks and workshops in the lead-up to The Vigil night, where it serves as the main stage for the natural amphitheatre of Walumil Lawns at Barangaroo Reserve.

“It’s a soft space. It’s not about a four-walled building and a proscenium arch. It’s settled in Country.”

- Jake Nash, describing the Vigil: Gunyah space (Sydney Morning Herald)

Prefabrication

Constructed off-site over months by a group of Sydney architecture students and other Sydneysiders who responded to Cave Urban’s call to ‘come build with us’, the project brought people together to discover and learn well before its assembly and opening at Sydney Festival.

Thank you to our wonderful volunteers: