The town of Busselton is located at the southern end of the bay and is a popular tourist destination, famous for its jetty and annual migrations of Southern Right, Humpback, Pygmy and Blue Whales between September and December. Busselton Jetty is also famous for its unique underwater ecosystem where the cold waters of the Southern Ocean meet the warm waters of the Indian Ocean driven by the Leeuwin Current.
The not-for-profit, jetty management company, Busselton Jetty Inc. commissioned Subcon and Baca to design an iconic form for their Australian Underwater Discovery Centre (AUDC) project, reflecting the area’s natural beauty.
Above the water, the ‘Cetacean’ design is an abstract interpretation of a whale, which raises its head over Geographe Bay. This was inspired by a manoeuvre that whale watchers call “Spy Hop”, which is when an inquisitive whale raises its head and eye just clear of the surface to do its own bit of watching back at us.
Underneath, the AUDC aims to become the world’s largest natural marine observatory, with the additional attraction of offering visitors a unique underwater dining experience.
Construction should start in the middle of next year, with the centre aiming to open by December 2022.
Dubbed “Cetacean”, its body will be formed from concrete with a composite roof. Concrete was chosen for the base as it is an inherently heavy and durable material which performs well in the harsh environmental conditions experienced in marine and coastal applications. It has a proven track record of performance in such conditions, with both in-situ and precast forms used in a wide range of applications along the coast and out to sea.
Cement replacements will be used to reduce the carbon footprint of Cetacean and make the concrete more durable. Cetacean’s high thermal mass will offer the opportunity to help stabilise internal temperatures, reducing the need for air conditioning, the building will use a water heat exchange for heating and cooling and the mouth of the Cetacean will use passive stack principles to draw fresh air into and through the building.
The massive windows will be made from bonded acrylic and will stand up to five and a half metres tall and 12 m long.
It is envisaged that the concrete body will be precast in a neighbouring shipyard and then towed out to site to be submerged in location.
The site presents some serious challenges for the design and installation teams. Not only is it 2 km from the shoreline, it is also exposed to the marine environment of Indian Ocean to the north and west. The pier is at five and a half metres above the mean sea level and the water depth is seven metres below.
Amongst other potential challenges, the design has to withstand cyclonic storm surges, so the head of Cetacean is oriented into the prevailing weather rather like the bow of a ship, specifically for the dissipation of six and a half metre high waves.
The project engineers are CoreMarine who delivered the Norwegian Restaurant “Under” and bring a unique skillset to the Cetacean team. This collaboration between Subcon, CoreMarine and Baca has developed a unique solution to the huge challenge of designing “Cetacean” to be fabricated onshore and then safely floated and towed out to sea and onto location where it will be secured to the seabed.
For its first week of life, Cetacean will join the annual whale migration down Australia’s west coast as it is towed into position.
The approach to the resort will take guests through a landscaped sequence from their moment of arrival, where they will leave their car behind in a park graced with rain gardens.
Once inside the AUDC, visitors can embark on a unique journey towards the ocean floor level observatory. Passing through art gallery and exhibition spaces on the descent, the circulation is accentuated by the “cetecean’s eye”, a large partially submerged structural glass window which recalls a whale peeking up above the ocean surface.
Geographe Bay is the largest sea grass meadow in the world and is home to a diverse ecosystem that is protected by a marine park. And just like many of our oceans’ fragile ecosystems, the bay is under pressure from climate change, pollution and fishing. Cetacean is designed to both integrate into this ecosystem and most importantly, to engage visitors in a better understanding and appreciation of what lies below. Its underwater galleries and a ‘Marine Parks Discovery Zone’, the Zone, will be committed to improving awareness, understanding and support for all of Australia’s marine parks and their management.
The surface treatments and underwater art galleries are designed primarily to create new and thriving habitat for fishes and corals in Geographe Bay. The outer surface is being designed by Subcon to be a living, bio-receptive, structure that enables barnacles and algae to graft on just as they do on whales. This living building will gracefully age and integrate into the unique ecosystem beneath the jetty, whilst providing critical habitat for fishes and corals which inhabit Geographe Bay.
This is as authentic as it gets, because people are in the tank and the fish are looking in. By adding underwater dining, underwater sculptures, marine art and other features, this project will enhance Bustleton Jetty’s 155 year old experience.
House says that at its peak times, people are turned away from the current observatory because it can only accommodate 44 people per hour.
Jetty Chief Executive, Lisa Shreeve, says that the current underwater observatory will become a marine research centre promoting clean oceans, offering the public interaction with world-class research and featuring a laboratory to educate people about ocean climate change.
House claims that the construction of the new Australian underwater discovery centre will create work for 200 people and, further down the line, that thousands of jobs will be created over the coming years as cafés, hotels, service stations, retail stores, bus companies and trade agencies all prosper, returning some $200m in economic benefit to Western Australia.
The project is a great example of blue finance in the UN’s decade of habitat restoration. It will cost $30m (AUD) and is being funded by a combination of Federal and State government grants and contributions from Busselton Jetty Inc and Busselton City Council.