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Contreras Earl Architects recently unveiled the world's first coral ark design. The new conservation facility site will be located at the entrance to the Great Barrier Reef in Port Douglas, North Queensland, Australia, designed to ensure a long-term future for corals around the world and to preserve biodiversity and avoid serious existential threats from climate change.
The Coral Biobank, designed by Contreras Earl Architects and leading engineering, as well as sustainability consultants Arup and Werner Sobek for the Great Barrier Reef Heritage Project, is the first facility site dedicated to the future of coral worldwide. The building, which will house 800 species of stony corals from around the world, is a "living ark" designed using state-of-the-art renewable energy to create the most suitable environment for coral storage while minimizing energy consumption and sunlight radiation.
In addition to the priority of ensuring the biodiversity of the world's coral species, a 6,830-square-meter multi-purpose centre will serve as an exhibition area, auditorium, classrooms and four floors of state-of-the-art research centres and experimental facilities. In addition, "The Living Coral Biobank will allow visitors the opportunity to get up close and personal with living specimens in the aquarium, learn about the coral ecosystem at exhibitions and events, and observe how coral rearing experts perform their day-to-day work in a protected wet laboratory environment."
Commissioned by great Barrier Reef Legacy, the project responds to the background, climate, users and its ability to protect 800 species of coral. Inspired by mushroom coral, the building's mass design features a series of organic undulating concrete sheets on the façade, "tightly integrated on the ground floor to protect the building's interior from adverse tropical conditions, including the threat of flooding". Concrete sheets twist and unfold on higher floors, allowing natural light and ventilation while also providing shade. In addition, the visitor's experience is controlled by a game of light and shadow manipulated by the building.
This project is a profound reminder of a sense of responsibility to consider the impact of architecture and construction on the natural world. As one of the world's leading contributors to carbon dioxide emissions and related climate change, architects need to encourage and support the construction industry to become carbon neutral. The Living Coral Biobank is an opportunity to set a global benchmark for sustainable development outcomes and zero-carbon goals, as well as a world-leading coral conservation and teaching centre. The goal of this project is to create an environmentally conscious light, a center for delivering hope, learning, and wonder.
—— Rafael Contreras
Sustainability is at the heart of every design decision. From well-preserved corals in highly controlled environments to biosecurity requirements to prevent cross-contamination, they are all aimed at achieving self-sufficiency and carbon neutrality. In fact, the overall structure is divided into four different grades of six compatible climatic zones, while the energy resources used for adjacent climate control are minimized.