Western Mining Corporation Visitors Centre
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The Western Mining Corporation Visitors
Centre was designed and built by students of the School of
Art, Architecture and Design at
the University of South Australia. The project was commissioned by the
District Council of the Copper Coast as part of a tour of historic mines
around the town of Moonta, South Australia.
The project is sited at the edge of the open-cut at Wheal Hughes Mine and serves as an information centre and safety equipment store for visitors to the mine. The building directs visitors through a sequence of experiences including instruction, information display, views of the mine and preparation for their destination below ground.
The design is adaptable to climatic extremes and a variety of alternative uses by the extensive use of sliding steel and glass panels. The expression of the building and the choice of materials are a response to the barren and exposed site, and the raw and pragmatic character of modern mine buildings.
The project was designed by David Saunders and Tom Vinall, 5th year Architecture students, prefabricated and assembled under the coordination of lecturers David Morris and Nick Opie, and built on site by students and staff from 1997-9.
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