Why Doesn’t Melbourne Have a Material Library?

After working across material libraries all over the world, global sustainability and circular economy consultancy Hyloh has brought the concept home with the launch of a pop-up Melbourne Material Library. The library offers designers, architects and sustainability professionals a hands-on way to explore material innovation.

From New York to Paris, Shanghai to Sweden, every major city across the globe has a material library — so why doesn’t Melbourne? After working at many of these international libraries, Hyloh has brought the concept home, creating a space where designers, architects, sustainability professionals, and innovators can explore the possibilities of materials in a hands-on, experiential way.

Entering the library is like being a kid in a candy store — eyes lighting up at the potential each material offers. Step inside and encounter living moss, coffee-ground golf tees, 3D-printed eggshell ceramic tiles, bio-based paper coatings, mycelium packaging, oyster shell renders, and hemp hurd blocks. There’s simply nothing like being able to touch, test, and experiment before designing — saving countless hours of guesswork and avoiding expensive mistakes.

A space dedicated to materials instigating circularity, by design.

Suppliers including Saveboard, Zeoform, Circular Sea from Mineral Fox, Defy Design, ISOHemp from KOSP Construction and Eggxpert have showcased their materials, demonstrating how creative experimentation meets practical application.

Located in the historically rich design precinct of Richmond, Sanders Place provides the ideal backdrop for the library — a coworking and community space supporting social and environmental innovation. This is currently a pop-up, with the hopes to secure a permanent home and attract opportunities to scale, offering a long-term resource for Melbourne’s creative and professional communities.

This concept is led by Sarah D’Sylva, co-founder of Hyloh, a female owned, global consultancy and creative network committed to advancing the circular economy through innovative material solutions and sustainable design strategies.

Formerly the Senior Design Strategist at Material ConneXion in New York and a collaborator at MateriO Paris, Sarah was recognised as the winner of Planet Ark’s 2023 Emerging Circularity Leader Award, and presented Patriarchy vs the Planet on stage at The Outlook 2025. She is also a lecturer at Monash University, teaching professional practice to cross-disciplinary design students. Under her guidance, the library has welcomed students from RMIT, Monash, Melbourne, Victoria University, and Swinburne Universities, as well as corporate vistors from Hassell, Diadem, Arup, NGV, Tennis Australia, and the Commonwealth Bank.

“Materials are no longer just components, they’re commitments.” — Sarah D’Sylva

This initiative directly aligns with the Economic Development Strategy 2025–2029: The Melbourne Advantage, which sets out a bold ambition to make Melbourne the Asia-Pacific’s city of choice for innovation, talent, and opportunity.

As the first of its kind in Australia, the Melbourne Material Library supports Victoria’s start-up ecosystem by putting innovative materials directly in front of specifiers who have the capital and expertise to invest, scale, and bring the technologies of the future to life.

By fostering collaboration between designers, researchers, and industry, the library provides the tangible infrastructure to help realise that ambition — translating material intelligence into real-world circular and economic outcomes.

The Melbourne Material Library is open for tours by appointment to anyone interested in exploring circularity and material intelligence.

More information: melbournemateriallibrary.com