2001 Victoria and Tasmania State Awards

Tecton Projects, Hobart City Council

Beaumaris Zoo Entry Gates

Merit

Client: Hobart City Council

Jury Comments
The task of identifying the historic significance of the site to the passing public, whilst maintaining the site as a secure enclosure, was a challenging one, given a $26,000 budget and a 6 month timeframe from inception to installation.

With this background in mind, Tecton achieved a high degree of excellence in the presentation of the site and its inherent poignancy. The landscape architect is to be commended for leading and managing a team to achieve a unified whole, the detail of which is well resolved, beautifully presented and touching in its content.

The team included acclaimed artist, Patrick Hall, noted graphic designer Lynda Warner and 'wordsmith' Chris Viney.

The landscape architect is to be commended for leading such a team.

The outcome is particularly admirable for its achievement within an extremely small budget. For those of us who are budget or timeframe challenged, the work of Tecton Projects at Beaumaris Zoo serves as a touchstone for what can be achieved through combined talent, inspiration and will.

The Beaumaris Zoo on the Queens Domain, Hobart is the site where the last Tasmanian tiger (Thylacinus cynocepalus) died in captivity, a fact which is a reflection on the times and on the nature of zoo keeping early last century. Today the site is derelict and contaminated as a result of later use by the military for fuel storage.

A collaborative team of allied professionals including a graphic designer, sculptor/artist and interpreter/wordsmith contributed to the design and documentation of the project, and the project was, aptly, opened on World Threatened Species Day, September 9, 2000.

The project communicates stories about the history of the site to the passing public, and also secures the site against unauthorised access and looting. The context is English picturesque, the local landscape includes Botanical Gardens, Government House and Queens Domain. The gates, whilst being vandal resistant and difficult to climb, respect the context and are visually penetrable to allow free views into the site.

The long-term vision for the site is to house a sculpture park, providing opportunities for various Tasmanian artists to become involved in future events. In this guise, the park, which once fulfilled an important public role, will again be a site for cultural life in Tasmania.