Five architects to compete for design of visitor centre for regional NSW botanic garden

Five architectural practices have been selected take part in a design competition for a visitor centre at the Southern Highlands Botanic Gardens in Bowral, New South Wales.

TCL's masterplan for the South Highlands Botanic Gardens.

TCL’s masterplan for the South Highlands Botanic Gardens.

Image: Taylor Cullity Lethlean

CHROFI, Fender Katsalidis Architects, Hassell, John Wardle Architects and Tonkin Zulaikha Greer are the five architectural practices that will submit designs for the centre, which will sit at the heart of a relatively new botanical garden designed by landscape architects Taylor Cullity Lethlean (TCL). The winning practice will collaborate with TCL to see its design implemented.

Gardens chairperson Charlotte Webb said she was “delighted that architects of this caliber are participating.”

The Southern Highlands Botanic Gardens were opened in late 2013 and are still under development as part of a process that will take decades as a collection of exotic and native plants are grown and established, according to chairperson Charlotte Webb. It is hoped that the visitor centre will help secure this process, and the gardens’ future, by establishing a regular income stream.

“Many established botanic gardens in Australia and overseas suggest that early construction of a visitor centre can provide income through retail sales and associated services as well as offering visitors a greatly enhanced experience,” said Webb.

“We are confident that the visitor centre [design] that emerges from the competition will become a landmark and a talking point in the Southern Highlands creating a new gateway to a unique Highlands landscape experience and a key regional destination.”

The entries will be evaluated by a jury, chaired by Architectus principal Elizabeth Watson-Brown, that comprises Jon Clements (director, Jackson Clements Burrows), Graham Fletcher (former landscape architecture researcher, UNSW) and two representatives from the Gardens, Chris Webb and Lynn Collingridge.

The participating architects will present their entries to the jury on 23 June. The construction of the centre is anticipated to commence in 2018/2019, subject to funding being secured.

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