After the successful completion of the Mon Repos Gateway Visitor Centre Master Plan, the Queensland parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS) commissioned Lat27 to prepare an updated Master Plan Addendum and a detailed Functional Design Brief for the proposed new Mon Repos Turtle Centre (MRTC) at Bargara, Queensland.

This document was prepared to provide tenderers for the design of the Centre with detailed functional and technical design requirements– The Functional Design Brief (FDB). It provided the Principal Professional Contractor (PPC) and their sub consultant design team with a design brief to develop and complete the design and construction documentation for the new facilities at Mon Repos.

The Lat27 Team carried extensive stakeholder consultation at project inception to crystallise the vision and functional requirements for both the overall site and the new MRTC. It was also a critical brief requirement that a zero-light spill environment had to be achieved. These Functional and Spatial Requirements were developed to provide guidance to the PPC on QPWS’s expectations with regards to specific project inclusions. Other project defining requirements included;

• A loose fit/multi use approach to the internal planning of the built form that can accommodate varying functionalities of key spaces and maximises the opportunities to engage and connect with external landscaped spaces.
• Integration of areas that may be considered ‘free and accessible’ and what areas may be ‘user pay’.
• A seamless transition between the arrival forecourt / welcoming entry point / café or similar.
• Retention of the existing beach access points and boardwalks.
• Investigation of the viability of retaining and adapting the existing visitor Centre building for the new research facility requirements.

The brief provided detailed; architectural, civil, structural and services engineering and operational constraints and referenced key legislative approvals and relevant Australian standards.

The FDB was issued as a baseline brief and a live document, that required ownership and further development by the PPC Team as the design progressed through each project stage.