The Chris Steele Scott Pavilion

The Chris Steele Scott Pavilion sits modestly by the lake in the Mount Lofty Botanic Gardens, 20 minutes’ drive out of Adelaide, South Australia.

The project was initiated by the community based Mount Lofty Botanic Garden Support Group. Such a shelter had been envisaged in master-plans for the Garden, but funding had never been available.

After raising money for the pavilion, the support group entered into a partnership with the School of Art Architecture and Design at the University of South Australia to design, document and participate in the construction of the project.

UniSA students worked on designs over a semester long studio which culminated in the client selecting a winning proposal designed by Samuel Chua.

Chua, together with other students and staff from the university developed and documented the design, working closely with the client representative and project manager, David Gilbert.

Building on a twenty one year history of design construct, UniSA continued this collaboration throughout the project, leading students through the design, prefabrication and construction of parts of the building.

The building nestles into its site on an elongated, leaf like footprint. It achieves its aim of providing a large sheltered congregation area, well integrated storage space and point of contemplation to view of the lake.

The materials respond to the extremes that our climate demands; a concrete and steel protective shell, softened and carefully detailed with native hardwoods within. The building takes formal cues from the surrounding flora and will function as a point of departure from which groups will explore the Gardens.

The pavilion is for many, much more than shelter. It’s a symbol of community collaboration, fundraising, services offered in kind, the realisation of student ideas and lastly, a memorial to Chris Steele Scott, the woman who initiated the idea, yet unfortunately never witnessed its completion.

Image: Sam Noonan