The Impressive Phillip Is. Penguin Parade Visitor Centre
The centre’s overall environmental credentials are impressive, with an array of 666 solar panels on the expansive roof, a water filtration system to recycle rainwater for non-potable use, increased roof and floor insulation, and double-glazed windows. Low carbon building materials have been used throughout the centre’s construction, including sustainably sourced Victorian Ash hardwood for the impressive, laminated beams completed by Swell Constructions who did an incredible job.
The star-shaped building sits between three distinct landscapes on the Summerland Peninsula, the site of a historic buy-back scheme which saw an entire residential estate bought back and returned to wildlife habitat. The centre’s architectural inspiration and form combine elements of the Peninsula’s basalt bluff, coastal dunes, and wetlands.
Its spectacular architectural design has already been acknowledged internationally, having just been announced as a winner at the 2019 International Architecture Awards, out of a field of over 380 submissions from 41 countries.