The Australian Age of Dinosaurs (AAOD) Museum near Winton in Queenland’s outback has made it into the finals of the 2013 World Architecture Festival (WAF) for the second consecutive year with its new reception centre.

The AAOD reception centre is one of the 12 shortlisted entries in the ‘Display’ category of WAF, which will be held in Singapore from 2 to 4 October 2013. It was also shortlisted last year under the ‘culture’ category.

Perched on the cliff edge of a huge mesa, the reception centre was designed by Cox Rayner Architects and valued at more than $2.5 million. Cox Rayner supplied all of the architecture and detailed drawings for the building free of charge, with the construction of the reception building partially funded by the Federal Government.

“It was a huge achievement really because this building was done by a lot of volunteer labour. There were a lot of people that did…[it] for very little money, so it is amazing to be shortlisted for world awards,” says Museum founder David Elliot.

The AAOD Museum houses the largest collection of Australian dinosaur fossils in the world, with the reception centre being the centrepiece and the first stage of the building program to display and interpret the dinosaur finds.

The sharp angles of the reception centre were inspired by the vivid terrain and imaginative drama of what it contains. The building twists skywards, culminating in a tall stack made of rusted steel incised with an intricate pattern hand-cut with an oxyacetylene torch.

Containing a small amphitheatre, shop and café, visitors will enjoy views of the open plains below from the reception area.

“The challenge was to design the building so that it could be largely constructed using techniques which a local workforce was familiar with in a remote area,” says Cox Rayner Principal Michael Rayner, who will travel to Singapore to present the AAOD Museum project to the WAF jury.

As a result, the main technique was to employ tilt-up concrete or earth panels poured on side. The latex moulds used to cradle fossils at the dig sites also left exact imprints of the crusted mud surrounds, so the architects proposed this technique to impart earth texture patterns onto the concrete panels.

“Our whole team at Cox Rayner is gob-smacked at what has been achieved through the passion and determination of a small regional community and we are just so proud to be involved,” says Rayner.

Geraldine Chua

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