Project Overview

Housed within a heritage-listed, former Royal Australian Mint administration building in Canberra is the Questacon Technology Learning Centre (QTLC). This unique creative hub is an experience centre that has the opportunity to positively impact the future of Australian innovation by increasing the community’s engagement with science and technology.

e2’s design solution is inspired by the maker movement and brought to life through the exploration of a combination of honest, simple and intuitive detailing that confirms QTLC’s approach. Various spaces expose joints, screws and rivets to create visitor intrigue through visual representation of how these spaces were built. The intuitive use of approachable, tactile and sustainable materials throughout the infrastructure allows specific spaces to be dedicated for interactivity and participation.

Project Commissioner

Questacon - The National Science and Technology Centre

Project Creator

E2

Team

Alex Ritchie - Creative Director
Amber Guenther - Senior Interior Designer
Cynthia Emon - Interior Designer
Amelia Dearn - Interior Designer
Patrick Maloney - Client Manager
Fiona Boyan - Graphic Designer
Bernard Finucane - Questacon Manager, People Property and Services
Built ACT – Project Management Team

Project Brief

Experimentation and exploration is the trigger that fuels imagination within QTLC. Inspired by the ‘maker movement’, the experience is designed to make people feel capable and welcome, even if it’s their first time at QTLC. In particular, visitors should feel empowered to ‘make it on their own’, encouraging individuals to make mistakes when problem solving and feel challenged during their session, but leave feeling with a sense of achievement.

Visitors from all walks of life are welcome at QTLC. There are specialised programs catered for mothers - ‘Technology for mums’, pre-booked groups for school or university students to tour and engage with the staff, business, government and semi-government agencies also getting involved in workshops for team building or problem solving education.

"the project's goal was to deliver an imaginative, functional and cost effective fitout with a life span of 20 years.. e2 ensured ultimate delivery against all agreed brief requirements without deviating from the project goals... I personally have not worked with a better consultancy company in my 25 years as an architect and project manager..."
- Bernard Finucane, Manager, People Property and Services Questacon.

Project Need

The QTLC sits on a global scale aligning with many international programs such as the Exploratorium in San Francisco, ARS Electronica Centre in Linz, Launchpad at the Science Museum in London and the Weston Family Innovation Centre in Ontario. The mandate of the organisation is to inspire young people to pursue careers in science and technology by engaging students in hands-on experiences that build skills and challenge negative perceptions of science, technology and manufacturing.

The centre is a core for creativity, where no two visitors experience the same journey. Staff have connectivity to all aspects of the programs from brainstorming in the prototyping room to building and designing exhibitions or guiding students through day tours and activities. The central zone dubbed the “Live Area” is where all knowledge and ideas are shared with the intent to give the feeling of being in a live exhibit. This area is made up of breakout spaces; open meeting areas and a flexible boardroom. Featuring supergraphics printed on timber cupboard walls, which were inspired by Heath Robinson’s “eccentric machine” illustrations, these graphics add another informative layer to allude to the message of innovation. All these elements of design were carefully considered by e2 to enable the greatest amount of connectivity from staff to visitors and to heighten their learning experience.

As only the exhibition space is opened to the public, this encourages groups to book in for sessions and workshops so they get a more concentrated learning experience.

Design Challenge

QTLC has become an integral part of the science and technology community not only in Australia but also around the world. It proved challenging working with a heritage-listed building, as there are limitations as to how far you can alter the existing infrastructure during the renovations. As a result, from the outside, QTLC looks like a heavy 1960’s administration office building but once you cross the threshold, the structure is transformed into a mixed-use creative centre, providing a new identity and life to the structure.

As every visitor experiences a different journey, the challenge was to try and understand the differing types of visitors and how they would use the space. A large amount of research was poured into trying to gauge the spectrum of demographics that would make up QTLC’s creative patrons. The solution: create programs to cater to all ages by using varying materials and tools to stimulate interest from everyone in all areas of the centre.

Sustainability

As we pointed out earlier, with any heritage-listed structure, there are constraints placed on the actions taken to refurbish and alter the space. Hence, the choices of materials were especially important to the design of this area.
Voluntary sustainable targets were created which consisted of the following:
- adhering to a specific waste management plan
- indoor environmental aspects were considered i.e. air quality, acoustic comfort, lighting
- use of recycled and E0 materials where appropriate
- low energy environmental systems
- encourage waste streaming

All these targets were met and will therefore reduce QTLC’s environmental impact from its renovation stage right through to its time of operation.

Interior Design - Public or Institutional

This award celebrates innovative and creative building interiors with consideration given to space creation and planning, furnishings, finishes and aesthetic presentation. Consideration also given to space allocation, traffic flow, building services, lighting, fixtures, flooring, colours, furnishings and surface finishes.
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