Robin Rao

The project requires amalgamating the contradictory spatial qualities of a traditional Observatory with the frangible envelope of a shipwreck. I was prompted to design with critical comprehension of the project's effects on Garden Island's ecosystem.
The project acknowledges the traditional owners of Kaurna country through its use of Mangrove branches and leaves as materiality. The scaffolding structure represents impermanent seasonal shelters, elevated above the inconsistent rise of water levels to prevent the inundation of the project's programmes.

Spatial circulation of programmes extending beyond the ship's envelope, depicting the segregation between the shipwreck's delicate remnants and the Observatory's requirement for a sturdy foundation.

Precedent Observatory analysis for spatial circulation, programme requirements & atmospheric qualities in a traditional observatory.

The site map depicts our analysis of Garden Island's surrounding context on our visit to Adelaide.

The need to understand the Dome's structural performance was imperative for us to build our shipwreck's dome. This structural and materiality analysis helped me distinguish between essential & non-essential elements of an Observatory Dome.