Last year, JCB was invited to participate in a limited competition to design a new visitor centre at Cruden Farm, Langwarrin.

Our proposal was conceived to reinforce the generous legacy of Dame Elizabeth and Sir Keith Murdoch’s custodianship of the property since 1928 as well as the continued custodianship of Country by the Bunurong and Boon Wurrung people of the southeastern Kulin Nation.

The floating roof plan hovers above the landscape referencing a low-lying fog and envelops a magnificent red gum.

Hard working service spaces and kitchens are concealed, and the floor plan is fully adaptable to accommodate a broad range of uses.

The surrounding landscape proposal for the Visitors centre presents a restored indigenous landscape as a counterpoint to the mixed exotic and native landscape setting throughout the Dame’s expansive gardens. A further example of JCB’s commitment to sustainability and our investigation of off-grid solutions.

Congratulations to Powell and Glenn who submitted the successful proposal.