Olkola Cultural Knowledge Centre Stage 1 Prototype

This item contains files with download restrictions

figure

posted on 2025-04-11, 05:53 authored by HANNAH ROBERTSONHANNAH ROBERTSON, Uncle Mike Ross, Chairman Olkola Aboriginal Corporation, Debbie Symonds, CEO Olkola Aboriginal Corporation, Katherine Samuel, Project Administrator Olkola Aboriginal Corporation, Shania Ross, Finance Manager Olkola Aboriginal Corporation, Andre Grant, Project Manager Centre For Appropriate Technology, Pippa Connolly, Faculty of Engineering Monash University, James Taylor, Volunteer architectural design services, Georgia Richards, Lauren French, Robbie Lees, Michael Whittingham, Volunteer architectural design services (Kerstin Thompson Architects, Nick Love, Volunteer architectural design services (Six Degrees Architects, Kim Atkinson, Hamish Banks, Senior Structural Engineer (Arup, Robert Donnan, RPEQ Engineer (Arup, Alexia Velev, Structural Engineer (Arup, Shelley Crowe, Prue Edmunds, Sustainability Engineer (Arup, Timothy Bowker, Mechanical Engineer (Arup, Zeph Walker, Walker Homes and Construction (Builder, Uncle Richard Ross, Olkola Aboriginal Corporation (On site coordination and site establishment works

The Olkola Cultural Knowledge Centre Stage 1 Prototype is an Olkola community-led and industry engaged architectural work that establishes services (power, water and wifi) and provides cultural tourism infrastructure on Olkola Country in remote Cape York, Queensland, Australia. It includes a commercial kitchen, toilets, showers, a lagoon viewing deck and water collection, waste water treatment and solar power services. It was co-created by the Olkola Traditional Owners in collaboration with Hannah Robertson at the University of Melbourne, Andre Grant at the Centre for Appropriate Technology, Monash University, Arup, Kerstin Thompson Architects and Six Degrees Architects.

Funding

Queensland Government;Growing Indigenous Tourism Queensland;GITQ00037

History

Add to Elements

NTRO Output Type

Original Creative Work

NTRO Output Category

Original Creative Work : Design / architectural Work

Place

Olkola Country, Cape York, Queensland, Australia

Start Date

2018-12-01

End Date

2024-12-12

Medium

Building

Research Statement

The Olkola Cultural Knowledge Centre Prototype is a major architectural work that responds to the critical need for evidence-based, community-led and industry engaged construction practices that build the sustainable livelihoods needed to live on and maintain cultural connections to Country on remote Indigenous traditional lands, known as homelands. The OCKC Prototype synthesises theoretical, technical and traditional cultural knowledge to discover new practical solutions for building on Country. It advances understandings of how to generate culturally meaningful and sustainable livelihoods on Country. Practically it establishes services and cultural tourism infrastructure. The design and construction process forms new modes of participatory research that see Olkola as active participants, designers and co-authors and through partnerships it offers a way forward for communities to engage with and lead future research projects. The OCKC Prototype’s success has attracted further competitive funding to construct the Stage 2: Cultural Centre (with a $2.65 million Australian Government Growing Regions Fund Grant) and Stage 3: Ranger Base (with a $1.04 million ILSC grant). Its excellence has been recognised by academic peers through presentation invitations (Indigenous Knowledge Institute Annual Symposium (Keynote, 2023) and AIATSIS Summits (2023-4)) and media reviewed (Cape York Times, ABC Radio National, Bumma Bippera, Triple R and CAAMA Radio). It has created 6 Olkola Ranger positions and as Olkola Chairman and elder Uncle Mike Ross states: “The [Prototype] is not just for Olkola People, it’s for anyone who wants…to gain a better understanding of their place in the world and their responsibilities to Country.”

Size or Duration of Work

The Prototype structure is 276 square metres plus a solar system array, rainwater collection tanks and wastewater treatment.

Affiliation

Olkola People and the Olkola Aboriginal Corporation, Hannah Robertson (University of Melbourne), Andre Grant (Centre for Appropriate Technology), Monash University, Arup, Kerstin Thompson Architects, Six Degrees Architects

Usage metrics

Keywords

Remote building Homelands Sustainable Livelihoods Cultural tourism Indigenous land management Community-led design Indigenous-led design Olkola

Licence

RLT