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PROJECT SPOTLIGHT - Gunditj Mirring Keeping Place - 25th Australian Timber Design Awards
On a windswept hilltop overlooking Darlot Creek in western Victoria,
@phillipspilkingtonarchitects has created a repository for Gunditjmara cultural artefacts: objects returned from institutional collections, and a business centre for the community to build economic futures on Country.
The design expresses a powerful duality. An eleven-sided steep dome clad in Silvertop Ash radial sawn battens by
@radialtimber recreates traditional Gunditjmara dwellings, sitting above locally collected volcanic fieldstone gabion walls referencing the ancient stone structures of the Budj Bim landscape. A fan-shaped office wing peels away, clad in Silvertop Ash boards and framed in Pinus Radiata from nearby Heywood and Mt Gambier forests. Inside the dome, eleven curved Glulam rafters rise to a steel collar supporting a rooftop lantern, forming a beacon of occupation and remembrance while Hoop Pine veneer joinery lines the museum-grade repository.
Composite Blackbutt and aluminium windows marry durability on the exposed site with the warmth of timber internally.
The building is completely off-grid: a 96kW solar array provides power, water is roof-collected and supplemented by filtered creek supply, and wastewater is treated on site. Approximately 90% of structural framing is timber, designed for a 100-year lifespan.
📸 Terry Hope Photography
Design:
@phillipspilkingtonarchitects
Builder:
@awnicholsonptyltd
Engineering: PM Design Group
Cladding:
@radialtimber
Windows & Doors: Patron Windows
@woodcentralau
#ATDA2026 #AustralianTimberDesignAwards #TimberDesign #Glulam #SilvertopAsh #RadialTimber #TimberCladding #EngineeredTimber #SustainableDesign #OffGrid #FirstNationsArchitecture #Gunditjmara #AustralianArchitecture #TimberConstruction #KeepingPlace