Gold Coast Great Walk Queensland/New South Wales, Australia
Set in the ancient Gondwanan rainforest of the Gold Coast hinterland, the project proposes an eco-pilgrimage for the hiker-researcher/citizen-scientist looking to gain better appreciation of the region. Four stations are positioned along the multi-day Great Walk trail,
inviting hikers to explore, measure and record the landscape through elemental experiences with air, earth, water
and fire.
Category Speculative, Public,Education
The Gold Coast is an icon of Australian tourism, but its hinterland counterpart is relatively little known to the masses (Pictured: Tourist guide)
Instead, this region draws hikers and scientists, drawn to the decade-old Great Walk trail as it meanders through
the ancient natural wonders of the Gondwanan rainforest and Tweed Volcano caldera (Pictured: Research drawings, collages and postcards)
The walk is three days in full — beginning at Green Mountain high up on the Lamington Plateau, traversing Binna Burra, down into the Numinbah Valley and Woonoongoora, and ending in Springbrook (Pictured: Site locality map, site section, isometric and sketches)
Poised on the edge of the volcano caldera,
the first of the stations is exposed to the hinterland’s vital
hydrological systems (Pictured: Working model)
Here, a meterological station harnesses the effects of extreme weather through visual and haptic sensation,
with a gently sloping platform immersing the hiker within the spectacular vantage, and a single walkway inviting the hiker to fly a detachable kite at the lookout point, weather conditions permitting
(Pictured: working drawings)
The wind vane and cup anemometer provide a scientific reading of wind velocity, while spinning kites and tensile cords translate the wind into effects which both obscure and reveal the view (Pictured:
Floor plan, section, detail and sketches)
Binna Burra — which translates to “where the Beech trees grow” — is at the heart of the second station’s location at Tullawallal, the local summit, where a pocket of Antarctic Beech (Nothofagus moorei ) trees survives from the Gondwanan era (Pictured: Research postcard)
The station transposes the crown-like formation of the trees into an elevated, narrow, ringed walkway for observation, affording hikers the opportunity to discard their packs and engage with the mycology of this region (Pictured: Working collage)
Vertical hoop pine and red cedar logs that support the path serve as reminder of the relatively recent clearing of the local valley, as in the dry season they remain bare; yet, in the wet season, they harbour unique species of fungi—from the Beech Orange to polypores and corals (Pictured:
Floor plan, section, detail and sketches)