Hunt Architects’ story-telling concept for reactivating the heritage-listed historic town of Cossack sees a number of elements directly inspired by the immediate landscape and rich Indigenous history of the region.

Dubbed the Bajinhurrba Knowledge Centre, the concept has been developed in collaboration with the Ngarluma Yindjibarndi Foundation (NYFL) as part of its cultural and economic activation strategy for Cossack. It features a museum, exhibition and events space, a nature playground based on Ngarluma dreaming stories, a knowledge garden with native plants, and a series of outdoor nodes and gathering-points.

The Western Australian Government enabled the NYFL to become the permanent custodian of the area in December 2020. Since then, the Foundation has sought to create a low impact eco-tourism precinct, with the Knowledge Space to become the centrepiece of its vision for the area. Hunt was approached by NYFL to create an innovative and sustainable space that would contribute effectively to the landscape, with the practice capitalising on a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reinvigorate a much-loved heritage space through celebrating the area’s traditional culture.

Hunt’s Alex Godfrey has been heavily involved in the design process since its genesis. The winner of the prestigious Architects Board of WA Curtin 2020 Graduate Award, the Graduate Architect has a keen interest in identity and history, specialising in connection to Country and Australian culture.

“The question became, how can we design a space that will not only allow the stories of the region to be told, but that will also be an amazing space that people will want to spend time in; that will draw people off the beaten track,” Godfrey says.

Bajinhurrba Knowledge Centre Concept Hunt Architects

An exterior textural palette of timber, rammed earth and rustic Corten Steel directly acknowledges the surrounding landscape, complementing the colours of the Pilbara. Cut-outs in the structure have been purposely implemented to allow natural light to seep into the building and for it to shine out at night.

The Centre offers views towards the ocean, with its partly enclosed design echoing the traditional shelters and hunting hides of the local Ngarluma people. Fluidity is a hallmark of much of the design, with the undulating roofline giving the structure a floating quality that enables it to intertwine with the red-and-orange backdrop of the surrounding landscape.

“An artwork is imagined within the façade of the building so that the building itself also becomes the story,” Godfrey says.

So many of the stories of Cossack and Bajinhurrba are unknown and there are many more waiting to be told. The Knowledge Space encourages both passive and active engagement with truth-telling and the stories of the region through art, events, culture, exhibitions and play. The Centre, if constructed, will eventually comprise a number of Aboriginal artefacts currently housed in Cossack’s museum, as well as a number from elsewhere across the State.

While only in concept phase, the Bajinhurrba Knowledge Centre shapes up as a potential cultural icon in Australia’s north west. For more information regarding the Ngarluma Yindjibarndi Foundation, visit nyfl.org.au.

Jarrod Reedie

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