Kings Park Education Facility

The Kings Park Environmental Education building is part of the Naturescape precinct, a unique nature based adventure playground for children. The facility is the home base for the Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority’s (BGPA) environmental awareness programme that is focussed on fostering wider community understanding and appreciation of the natural environment, and on the benefits of renewable energy supplied via a photovoltaic array and sustainable design. While the building is primarily for school children it is also used for public presentations and functions.

The project’s key design drivers were the utilisation of solar power and the reduction of energy consumption, the featuring of indigenous flora, and thoughtful architecture that would enhance the learning experience of visitors.

Folding together the building and its site enabled an earth roof, and by re-vegetating the entire area with natural flora the design prioritises a direct relationship between people, their accommodation and the natural environment.

Artworks, fully integrated into the architecture, are a significant feature of the design. Pam Gaunt has created engaging pieces, themed on local flora. Softly glowing floor pieces, each back-lit, offer a window into the intricate and attractive root-structures of the more iconic plants that can be found on the site.

The integrated artworks, the environmental and social programs, and expressive architecture signals our interest in a contemporary design discourse aimed at an eco-aesthetics, exploring what this might mean in the 21st century.