This tour of the Australian PlantBank led by Peter Titmuss, architect and principal at BVN and John Siemon, director of horticulture and living collections at the Botanic Gardens of Sydney, will highlight the unique design of the PlantBank and its science conservation programs.
PlantBank is the award-winning home of plant conservation research and germplasm collection and storage in New South Wales. The seed and tissue culture collections provide an insurance policy against extinction of native plants in the wild.
BVN designed the building to integrate with and respond to the landscape, environment and operational needs. It was recognised with the RAIA National Award for Sustainable Architecture in 2014. The surrounding landscaping designed by 360 Degrees Landscape Architects and the horticultural and botanical specialists at The Australian Botanic Garden presents a unified and accessible view of conservation science to visitors. There are three gardens in this landscape: the courtyard gardens set within the curving forms of the building, the bushland transition ‘meadow gardens,’ and the surrounding Cumberland Plain Woodland. The PlantBank gardens provide a direct link to the ecosystems that occur just beyond the footprint of the institute.
John Siemon is a horticultural scientist and the director of horticulture Botanic Gardens ofSydney where he leads a passionate team responsible for projects across more than 730 hectares of public greenspace. One of his greatest achievements has been helping to establish the Australian PlantBank, home to more than 100 million Australian plant seeds. He was responsible for securing $19.8 million funding which has helped transform the facility into a vital insurance policy against the extinction of native plants in the wild.
Peter Titmuss is a principal at BVN, where he champions the architecture firm’s weekly design conversations through which the wider practice is invited to consult on live projects, enabling cross sector and whole of practice collaboration. Contributing his time, enthusiasm and knowledge to the broader industry, Titmuss is an active participant on the NSW Government Architect’s State Design Review Panel.
