Cradle Mountain Visitor Centre
Anjie Blair
Product Spec Sheet

ElementBrandProduct Name
LiftsKone
Kone K3000 E MonoSpace
External Mesh ScreenLocker Group
Profile: Eclipse 600
External Timber claddingMortlock Timber
Trendplank Timber Cladding
Laminate - Laminex, Natural FinishLAMINEX
External Timber cladding - Silvertop Ash (Eucalyptus Sieberi)Mckay Timber
Carpet - Ontera Patina VibesR.A Jones

Product Spec Sheet
Lifts
Kone K3000 E MonoSpace by Kone
External Mesh Screen
Profile: Eclipse 600 by Locker Group
External Timber cladding
Trendplank Timber Cladding by Mortlock Timber
Laminate - Laminex, Natural Finish
by LAMINEX
External Timber cladding - Silvertop Ash (Eucalyptus Sieberi)
Carpet - Ontera Patina Vibes

Cradle Mountain Visitor Centre

Cumulus Studio as Architects

Sharp geometric forms beckon to a honeyed cave
Cradle Mountain Visitor Centre is a building of contrasts. It’s imposing but harmonious. It’s an abstract interpretation of nature. And it’s modern with a rightness unrooted in time. Most surprising of all, perhaps, is how the raw exterior unwinds into a warm, soft, delicate timber lining.

With wild rainforests, rolling grasslands and roaming Tassie Devils, it's no surprise Cradle Mountain entices a surging number of visitors. But how can you design a meaningful visitor experience in a footprint never intended to accommodate that number of guests? The Visitor Centre is the first development in a major plan to reimagine the iconic Cradle Mountain experience.

The Visitor Centre offers a warm alpine welcome to reflect both the sense of rugged-up anticipation on arrival and the distinctive Cradle Mountain geology. The sculptural, wilderness-inspired development includes an orientation building, commercial services base, shuttle bus shelter and coach transit centre. At every turn, we aimed to honour the significance and sensitivity of this world-renowned national park.

 

Materials to mirror nature
We designed the buildings to feel grounded, as if carved from a solid rock by a glacier. The umbrella rain-screen form references the folding angular geology of the site, inviting visitors into the cave-like timber interior.

The choice of timber for the interior was about the poetics and qualities of the place. Because timber is natural, guests feel connected to nature. It often evokes a response other materials don’t.

 

Measured tourists footprints
The design required an in-depth understanding of visitor movements across the site. It needed to accommodate the wide gap between peak and average visitor numbers and feel inviting in both cases. 

Our intuitive way-finding strategy creates a flow to subtly guide visitors while they interact with site interpretation and visitor information. We used a hierarchy of space that organises services but lets the staggering natural setting sing out. 

 

No mountain high enough
The Visitor Centre design went through many iterations as more stakeholders saw the project’s potential. But we’re proud the essence and guiding goals remained constant throughout, even as other aspects shifted around them. It’s quite a feeling to walk inside the sculpted interior timber cave, a completely unexpected gem inside the building. Whilst the triangulated timber volume’s complex geometry proved a technical challenge, it’s all the more satisfying to admire it now knowing the hard work involved.

Featured Projects
Latest Products
News
Hill West’s Olympia Dumbo tower in full sail
29 May 2023 News
Hill West’s Olympia Dumbo tower in full sail

The lofty Olympia Dumbo was designed by New York-based Hill West Architects. This 33-story residenti... More

“Wabi-Sabi” residence and nature blend in harmony
29 May 2023 News
“Wabi-Sabi” residence and nature blend in harmony

Nestled in a canyon above Salt Lake City, Utah, "Wabi-Sabi" is a home that embraces an all-round con... More

Swatantra Residence by Spaces Architects@ka boasts an architectural composition of concrete and art
29 May 2023 News
Swatantra Residence by Spaces [email protected] boasts an architectural composition of concrete and art

A house created for three generations of a family in Agra, India, the Swantantra residence, designed... More

OMA enriches the cosmopolitan energy of New York’s iconic Tiffany & Co. flagship with an evocative new floating volume and holistic renovation
27 May 2023 News
OMA enriches the cosmopolitan energy of New York’s iconic Tiffany & Co. flagship with an evocative new floating volume and holistic renovation

Originally opening its doors in 1940, the Tiffany & Co. flagship on 57th Street and Fifth Avenue... More

10 striking homes with decorative plaster exteriors
26 May 2023 Specification
10 striking homes with decorative plaster exteriors

The use of plaster in construction is an ancient building technique. Research shows that a number of... More

Haus Hoinka demonstrates the potential of straw bale construction
26 May 2023 News
Haus Hoinka demonstrates the potential of straw bale construction

Haus Hoinka by Stuttgart-based Atelier Kaiser Shen is described as “a straw bale house in the... More

Mixtura completes the uniquely contextual convent of the Franciscan Fraternity of Bethany in Brazil
25 May 2023 News
Mixtura completes the uniquely contextual convent of the Franciscan Fraternity of Bethany in Brazil

Designed by Mixtura, a practice of young architects from Italy, the new convent of the Franciscan Fr... More

The confluence of two rivers informs the design of a new exhibition center in Chongqing
24 May 2023 News
The confluence of two rivers informs the design of a new exhibition center in Chongqing

A new Planning Exhibition Center by Tanghua Architect & Associates has been built on a hill in a... More