Port Phillip EcoCentre

The new Port Phillip Ecocentre is a community education and research centre set within the St Kilda Botanic Gardens.  Designed as an exemplary environmental facility, it provides a new model for flexible space to serve emerging civic needs from one carbon neutral asset.

The project accommodates several classes of school children and staff, and is designed with Passivhaus principles to be carbon negative across its life cycle.  Using cross-laminated timber and other readily available proven technologies, it acts as a pedagogical tool for school children, citizen scientists and visitors to the St Kilda Botanical Gardens.

Designed to operate with net zero energy and water usage, the project is also targeting a 6 Star GBCA Green Star (as-built) rating. The building is embedded within the botanic gardens and camouflaged from views within the gardens with a trunk-like timber cladding.  The building consists of a multi-purpose space, meeting rooms and commercial kitchen as well as staff offices and the first citizen science laboratory in the southern hemisphere.  The specification of timber within the building has been scrutinised to ensure the provenance of the timber is not impacting biodiversity where it is farmed.  The structure, services and materials used all aim to provide a ‘net positive’ effect on the environment.