Puffing Billy Lakeside Discovery Centre

Tourism

Client
Puffing Billy Railway Board

Collaborators
Terroir Architects
KANE Constructions
Stantec Engineers

Disciplines
Landscape Architecture
Town Planning

Location
Emerald, VIC

Date
2022

Imagery
Tract

Awards
2022 International Architecture Awards, Chicago – Best New International Architecture

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The Lakeside Visitor Centre at Puffing Billy Railway is a vibrant cultural destination located within the picturesque Emerald Lake Park.

Set amidst the lush landscape of the Dandenong Ranges, the new Puffing Billy Lakeside Discovery Centre is a departure point for the historic railway adventure. Surrounding theDiscovery Centre visitors can enjoy activities on Lake Trenganowan, bushwalking and secluded picnic spots within the Emerald Lake Park.

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The major upgrade to the Puffing Billy Lakeside Discovery Centre was identified as a key project through Tract’s work on the Puffing Billy Master Plan Report which generated and analysed key opportunities for redevelopment of the existing site, some of these priorities included:

  • A need for improvement to the visitor experience, particularly in inclement weather conditions.
  • A priority to maintain an authenticity of the Puffing Billy rail experience
  • Better pedestrian and vehicular access into the site, integrating with a significantly steep landscape and connecting existing built form and infrastructure
  • The requirement to coordinate the design with functional rail requirements and specifications
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Tract worked closely with the Puffing Billy Railway Board, Terroir Architects and Kane Constructions to construct a new visitor centre, which includes a cafe, rail museum and ticketing facilities. A new rail platform, viewing deck, pedestrian path network and surrounding carpark facilities were all included as part of this significant site upgrade.

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