Brisbane Koala Science Institute

The Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary – founded in 1927 – inspires individuals and communities to live in balance with the natural world, and this new building is a physical manifestation of its mission to “protect, respect and conserve our environment and wildlife, by educating and connecting people with nature.”

The project commenced with our signature visioning process, and our design response for the newly established Brisbane Koala Science Institute was informed by three important goals, identified by our clients:

• To develop a world-class facility that brings together universities and other research institutions to advance life-saving research about koalas;

• To raise awareness through education – for both locals and visitors to Brisbane, the koala capital of Australia – about koala conservation and how to protect this important species for the future; and

• To draw attention to the challenges facing koalas in the urban context, and facilitate critical research to address those challenges.

Our client had already established a “Green Team” to research and evaluate the sanctuary’s environmental impact and work towards reductions in energy, water and waste consumption, so sustainable design initiatives were also a key consideration.

The resulting building differs from other animal sanctuary facilities by bringing together public-facing, educational, research and veterinary functions in one location.

This maximises opportunities for cross-pollination of knowledge and research on the topic of koalas.

The new facility is home to two full-time research staff, a research laboratory, Wildlife kitchen and hospital, animal enclosures, and a ‘Koala Biobank’ (koala frozen tissue repository).

The arrangement of meeting spaces, an interactive public seminar hall, and the Koala Resource Library enhances collaboration within the science community.

The building tells the story of the Institute – and its important work – through a strong narrative presence that starts at the building’s entrance.

This continues through the Seminar Hall where art and multi-sensory educational displays bring the sanctuary’s ‘behind the scenes’ activities and wildlife conservation into public view.

The facility also educates the public with sustainability principals in action, reflecting Lone Pine’s belief of ‘leading by example’ in terms of wildlife conservation and sustainability practices.

Some of the sustainably initiatives include:

• Use of solar-power grids – which also provide a thermal insulation layer to the building roof – thereby reducing the air-conditioning and energy requirements (these were designed and located to overcome the challenges of the heavily treed site);

• Battery walls to store collected power on site;

• Temperature control using geothermal air-conditioning technology; and

• Water handling on-site, via a water pollution treatment system, to reduce reliance on external grid infrastructure. 

The new building embodies the Institute’s core values and enables visitors and guests to experience sustainability and conservation in action.

Brisbane Koala Science Institute - 5 months in 26 seconds – Watch here