Aesop Canberra

Ngunnawal people inhabited and cared for the land that is now known as Canberra for many thousands of years before Marion Mahony and Walter Burley Griffin won a competition for the design of the Australian capital in the early twentieth century. The Griffins envisioned a metropolis that would complement its natural environment and also meet the civic requirements of a modern urban centre. Taking cues from the splendour of its surrounding landscape and the ingenuity of the city’s plan, Aesop Canberra was created by our in-house design department. A rich material palette of marble, jarrah and brass is evocative of the sun slanting onto the abundant nature reserves and mountains surrounding the city centre. Two monolithic cylinders—a basin and counter—sit in dialogue with each other, recalling the many round-abouts of Canberra’s streets and the axial arrangement of circular landmarks in the Griffins’ architectural drawings. With its deep red tones and rounded profiles, the space gestures to the distinctive interior of the Senate chamber in Parliament House.