Architecture - Masters

Mary River & Cod Regenerative Institute

IN SOUTH EAST QUEENSLAND THE ONCE ABUNDANT, DIVERSE ECOSYSTEMS THAT FLOURISHED IN THE MARY RIVER CATCHMENT HAVE BEEN SUBJECT TO ONGOING EXPLOITATION SINCE EUROPEAN SETTLEMENT. MOST OF THE ENDEMIC RAINFOREST THAT EXISTED HERE HAS BEEN CLEARED FOR GRAZING DAIRY CATTLE OR TURNED INTO PINE PLANTATIONS FOR THE TIMBER INDUSTRY, LEAVING ANIMAL HABITATS FRAGMENTED AND SUFFERING. THE TIMBER PLANTATIONS ARE AN ECOLOGICALLY SIMPLIFIED FORM OF FOREST, REPRESENTATIVE ONLY OF THE MASS DISPLACEMENT AND DISPOSSESSION CAUSED TO THE RAINFOREST’S ANIMAL INHABITANTS AND THE INDIGENOUS CUSTODIANS OF THE LAND. THE ONCE ABUNDANT WATER SYSTEM THAT FLOWED FROM THESE FORESTS TO THE OCEAN HAS BEEN SIMILARLY AFFECTED BY URBANISATION’S EXPLOITATIVE TREATMENT OF WATER AS A RESOURCE FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION. THE INTRODUCTION OF DAMS, BARRAGES AND THE REMOVAL OF RIPARIAN VEGETATION HAVE SIGNIFICANTLY AFFECTED THE NATURAL WATER FLOW TO THE MARY RIVER, RESULTING IN HARSHER EXTREME FLOOD AND DROUGHT, AND HABITAT DESTRUCTION FOR CRITICALLY ENDANGERED SPECIES SUCH AS THE MARY RIVER COD, WHICH DO NOT EXIST ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD. FACILITATED THROUGH SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH, PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT, STRENGTH IN COMMUNITY, EDUCATION AND AWARENESS, THIS PROJECT AIMS TO SUPPORT A RENEWED DIVERSITY AND ABUNDANCE TO THE ECOLOGICAL FABRIC OF THE MARY RIVER CATCHMENT AND IMBIL STATE FOREST.

Lilly Arbuckle

Vote Now

The architectural interventions – the institutional anchor in Kenilworth and the field station – exist to support a team of researchers from the QLD government, CSIRO and the University of Queensland, as well as the Mary River Catchment Coordinating committee who are implementing two research and recovery plans addressing the health of the Mary river catchment and the Mary River Cod species. The buildings also work to engage the local community and enhance collaboration and cultural exchange between the Gubbi Gubbi people, the first custodians of the land, the Murri Ranger program and visiting artists in residence.

Institutional anchor

Ground floor plan – community engagement

level one plan – research / laboratory

level two plan – research / laboratory

Long section – ground plane journey

GEORGE STREET ELEVATION

ELIZABETH STREET ELEVATION – MAIN PUBLIC ENTRY

CORNER OF GEORGE AND ELIZABETH STREETS

MAIN CENTRAL VOID – FROM LEVEL ONE

MAIN CENTRAL VOID – FROM GROUND PLANE – RIPARIAN GARDEN

SECONDARY WESTERN VOID – LEVEL ONE

FIELD STATION

FLOOR PLAN

The Field Station serves as a small facility within the plantation regeneration site to provide rest and reprieve spaces for both researchers and Murri Rangers, while also providing an immersed artists studio for visiting artists in residence.

Lilly Arbuckle

Lilly is an Interior Designer and future Architect who has 5 years experience working in industry on commercial and civic scale projects. Lilly is particularly interested in the ways that architecture can shape the world for the better and address environmental and social issues through regenerative practice.