Nicholson Construction completed the Keeping Place and Business Centre for the Gunditjmara Traditional Owners Group in the remote historical location near Heywood.

Nicholson Construction won two Master Builders Awards for the project in 2021 (Best Sustainable project and Excellence in Construction ($1m-$3m) and the architect’s won a National Award of Merit from Design Institute of Australia.

The construction took into consideration the Indigenous history of the site and the people and also took into consideration many environmental considerations.

The facility includes offices spaces, meeting spaces, reception, amenities, storage and a keeping place, to store artefacts.

The facility takes on the shape of a running creek, hence the waves throughout the design and also incorporates the shape of a historical Indigenous hut. The surrounds of the building include rocks in the layout like a creek for water run off, and the recreation of the historical eel trap that the region is famous for. The building is entirely off the grid and powered by solar.

Interviews with the client, our project team and the architect can be found at our YouTube channel.