The Ian Potter National Conservatory
learning°
360 Degrees in collaboration with BVN were awarded second place in The Ian Potter National Conservatory competition. Located in The Australian National Botanic Gardens in Canberra, the competition was commissioned by The Australian National Botanic Gardens in 2016.
Size: 2,800m2
Budget: N/A
Scope: Design Competition
1. Celebration of the forest floor (above right)
2. Canopy Eerie - elevated lookout (below right)
3. Landscape masterplan (above)
Site Section
The planted plane
The visitor path and the classroom floor
Extending the planted plane
The folded canopy
The Conservatory’s tilted plane is used to arrange the plants and their communities into an abstracted expression of evolution.
Passive cooling to Conservatory Forecourt and Entrance
Scale model
Connection with the existing botanic gardens
Context plan
Competition Design Summary
Our proposal spans the levels of the site, connecting the experience of the Gardens’ visitors, education groups, horticulturalists and researchers through its siting and section.
A new landscape garden and forecourt set the scene for the new Conservatory –plant species are selected and arranged with an evolutionary narrative. Together they form an engaging and legible gateway to the Conservatory and the Gardens’ primary walking trail; inviting visitors to explore further the upper contours. Visibility of the forecourt within the Core Precinct will facilitate a critical mass of activity helping to establish the precinct as a dynamic and active heart of the Gardens.
By entering from an elevated position, an accessible path can be cut within the Conservatory that seemingly lifts as the existing site slope drops away. Against this path a tilted plane of planting is created, rising with the slope of the land and extending beyond to address the forecourt and enclose an entry transition beneath a green roof. The planting arrangement here is geographic and taxonometric, supported by both tangible and virtual interpretive elements. The intersection and divergence of the path and the planted plane generates a dramatic compression and release that invites the visitor to consider both the minute and the grand from the floor to the canopy. Paths and platforms enhance interactivity whilst respecting the mass of the planted core.
The path and planted-plane are read externally in the form and materiality of the building. A dark anchored element bounding the collection and housing plant equipment seemingly rises from the gardens supporting a glazed canopy that extends a folding motif to capture balanced daylight. Each fold increases in height to reach the 15 metres required to house the largest plants. Its striking profile is evident on approach from the Gardens entry and its solid base dips to provide tantalising glimpses of a hidden garden within.
A second entry to the planted plane is created at the lower eastern side of the Conservatory where its floor is visible and its height most impressive. With close proximity to the Gardens’ educational facilities, this entry will allow guided groups and classes direct access to the planting and where visitors above may observe the activity below. Similarly, this entry allows the Gardens’ staff to change and maintain the collection with little disruption to the main visitor path above.
