New design provides safe cultural space at University

It’s taken 30 years of planning but Flinders University in South Australia is about to get a special area for cultural celebrations and learning. It’ll be known as Yunggorendi Cultural Gathering Space - Yunggorendi the name already gifted to the university by Kaurna Elders, the original people of Adelaide and the Adelaide Plains. It means to impart knowledge, to communicate, and to inform.

Wax Design Studio has designed the project which will provide a place of wellbeing and healing, a place to grieve, and to bring Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities together.

The space will provide a place of well-being and healing, a place to grieve, and a space that brings Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities together. Concept drawing.

The studio says it’s a “unique opportunity to create a place where cultural, learning, landscape, celebration and curation are intrinsically intertwined to convey a multi-layered and multidimensional location.”

Building on the principles of minimal disturbance and celebrating landscape, the cultural space is formed through a series of fibre reinforced plastic mesh decks. The decks provide access across the steep site for people of all abilities.

They allow sunlight, rain, and other elements to reach the earth below; enabling the uninterrupted revegetation of the site. Drawing inspiration from fallen gum leaves, the mesh decks form overlapping structures that surround a central amphitheatre space, facilitating a broad range of uses; from private study nooks to large capacity events.

Organically layered over the site, the amphitheatre decks frame the large compacted sand ceremonial space, centred with a shallow exposed aggregate concrete fire pit.

Designed as a place of cultural learning, cooking, conversation, performance and ceremonies, the large circular space is purposefully located in the centre of the site, so it can be viewed from all angles.

The remainder of the site provides a range of exposed, sheltered, and private spaces through the retention and protection of all existing trees during design and construction. When not in use the fire pit is protected with a steel lid, patterned with a representation of culturally significant Kaurna locations.

Wax Design says the integration of Kaurna place making within a contemporary context was only achievable through an inclusive, respectful and collaborative process with Kaurna Elders and other First Nation People.