A Tasmanian building was awarded a highly-commended prize at the World Architecture Festival for the Best Use of Certified Timber. Nicola Leonardi, Koray Malhan and Mark Thompson awarded the first highly commended prize to Krakani Lumi – a standing camp in Tasmania designed by Taylor and Hinds Architects. The World Architecture Forum (WAF) recognizes outstanding architecture projects in various categories. Together with PEFC, WAF awarded the Best Use of Certified Timber Prize for the first time this year. The prize recognises architects for their use of certified timber as a main construction material for buildings outstanding in sustainability, innovation, quality or aesthetics. Source: Timberbiz
Located in North East National Park, the camp serves as a stopover for visitors taking guided walks through the aboriginal land. A key priority of the project was environmental awareness and respect for the native culture.
In considering the cultural background, the architects aimed at preserving the encounter with the cultural interior, while at the same time delivering a modern building typology for a high quality tourism experience.
The result is a protective shroud that conceals the cultural interior, preserving the agency of the aboriginal community in the telling of their story.
The camp consists of a communal dome and several smaller, half domed lodges. The main construction material is PEFC/Responsible Wood, durable hardwood, supplied by Britton Timbers. While the exterior shroud consists of charred Silver Top Ash, opening the sliding doors reveals the warm interior, lined with blackwood and Tasmanian Oak.
A fireplace at the mouth of the dome invites everyone to gather and listen to the captivating stories about two centuries of war, aboriginal dispossession and exile, and the eventual return of a sacred landscape.
Situated in a sacred site, Krakani Lumi seeks to set the scene for the telling of a very large story.
“We have always sought to achieve an architectural sensibility that allows the spaces of Krakani Lumi to make the fullest experiential offering to the aboriginal community in the telling of their story,” said Mat Hinds, director of Taylor and Hinds Architects.
“Krakani Lumi is a remarkable project that gives Tasmania’s aboriginal community the opportunity to raise awareness for their story and their rights. Protecting indigenous people’s rights is also a priority for us at PEFC, and a key part of our revised Sustainable Forest Management benchmark standard,” said Ben Gunneberg, CEO of PEFC.
Tzannes International House Sydney won the Use of Certified Timber prize at the awards.
