Having been involved in case study work on Ningaloo reef for the South Australian Tourism Commission, it seemed a good idea to test some ideas about sustainability, ecotourism and metabolic systems by participating in a competition sponsored by the Australian Architectural Review.

The proposal was short-listed and in the end, came third and was published in the Review.

The proposal included a Metabolic Centre in Exmouth, establishing water, nutrient, material  and energy cycles. These enhanced the local comminity and economy and reduced reliance on systems centralised in Perth, about 2500km away. These systems drew life out of the local economy and made the place highly unsustainable becuase of its use of transport fuels.

These metabolic systems were mapped out in detail. the resort itself was kept simple, deconstructable and removable with little physical evidence. The buildings were located to provide a range of experiences related to parts of the site and clearly communicated their response to the harsh climate.

This rationale and exploration was not considered to be fully developed architecture -we needed to have stuck to computer graphics and wilder forms to make it real Architecture.

Thanks to the gall & medek staff who participated.