Design Guidelines for Nature-Based Tourism - Victoria
Landscape Architects: Inspiring Place
Contributors: Team Leaders - Inspiring Place (Jerry de Gryse, John Hepper, Laura Barrow) in association with Gregory Burgess Architects (Greg Burgess, Chris Rodda, Manelle Makhoul, David Neustein)
Project Brief: Prepare design guidelines that promote, guide and facilitate the development of high quality, environmentally sustainable nature-based tourism accommodation and facilities on public and private land in Victoria.
Project Summary: The Design Guidelines for Nature-Based Tourism are a major step towards the achievement of Victoria’s goal of increasing its economic yield from the nature-based tourism sector in an environmentally sustainable manner. In preparing the guidelines, Inspiring Place recognised that ‘the experience is the thing’ - tourism products that establish a strong sense of connection between the nature of a place and the built environment help visitors connect and engage with the landscape.
To this end, the document not only provides straightforward and comprehensive guidance on site planning, building design, infrastructure and on-going management but also offers users insights to working with the diverse ‘nature of Victoria’, its distinctive settings and the experiences to be had in each.
With a conversational writing style, ample illustrations, case studies, inspirational quotations and a wide ranging bibliography, the Guidelines explore complex ideas in a manner that can be readily absorbed by the wide range of stakeholders for whom the document is intended. At one level, the document is aspirational in its aim to connect people with the spiritual and personal benefits that are derived from close contact with nature. At another, it is guide that is ‘enabling rather than regulatory’ in identifying the key mechanisms for achieving quality, sustainable outcomes in natural settings.
Preparation of the guidelines was informed by extensive research and wide-ranging consultation with stakeholders including investors, developers, public land managers, land use planners, design assessors and decision-makers in local and State government.
The team also engaged recognised experts in architecture, landscape architecture, building, eco-tourism and ecology in a ‘master class’ workshop as a means of expanding the knowledge available to the project.
The Design Guidelines for Nature-Based Tourism are a substantive fillip for the profession. Inspiring Place, as Landscape Architects, were sought out to participate and on winning the tender provided leadership through the entire project. Leadership by a Landscape Architect gives truth to the maxim that in nature-based tourism, “the most important thing of an eco-lodge is that it is not the most important thing”.
Rather, it is the close contact with nature that arises from sensitive site selection, site planning and design that is most critical to success - tasks that are clearly the domain of the Landscape Architect.
Note, our role was to provide a document for circulation and review by stakeholders and government with the expectation that professional graphic design for publication would be undertaken at a later date. That work has now commenced and is expected to be completed in the near future.
Hector Ceballos-Lascurian, Mexican Architect and ecotourism and cultural heritage tourism expert.
more on this project (PDF)
