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Architects: Donaldson + Warn
- Area: 7500 m²
- Year: 2012
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Photographs:D-Max Photography, Robert Frith
Text description provided by the architects. A new building in Kings Park is an important commission. This is our fourth structure in Perth’s most treasured public park. As part of the Naturescape precinct the Kings Park Education facility is an environmental awareness centre and home base for the educational programmes run by the Botanic Parks and Gardens Authority. While the building is primarily for school children it is also used for public presentations and functions.
The expressive and experiential architecture has a significant sustainable agenda focused on generating solar power and reducing energy consumption while participating in a discourse on the aesthetics of sustainability. By folding together the building and its site and re-vegetating the earth roof with natural flora the design prioritises a direct relationship between people, their accommodation and the natural environment. The faceted plan, arcing around the site contours, utilizes the benefits of good orientation, and thermal mass plus the adoption of double glazing, LED lighting, recycled materials, cross ventilation and solar water heating are combined to maintain a comfortable and attractive interior. The facility consumes 60% less power than an equivalent building and it reduces greenhouse gas (CO2-e) emissions by 30.2 tonnes per year.
Pam Gaunt’s thoughtfully integrated art use light and draw inspiration from the architecture and its setting and some specific indigenous plants. Each piece is solar-powered, a reference to photosynthesis, and the main piece monitors and calibrates the building’s power consumption during its different modes of use. The results are visually engaging, interactive, and subtly didactic works.
