Touching the Earth Lightly – O’Reilly’s Campground by Aspect Architecture

Hidden away atop the cascading hinterland rainforest on a clearing with a never-ending view to the valley below sits an unexpected carbon-neutral, public campground designed by Aspect Architecture.

Representing a new chapter for eco-tourism, the campground is a partnership between a private organisation and the Queensland government. The organisation, O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat, has been given the opportunity to run and manage the campsite, only the second time such an arrangement has been made.

Both aesthetically and functionally the campground is designed to touch the earth lightly, utilising sustainable building practices and blending seamlessly into the surrounding landscape.

The O’Reilly family brings their 100-year-long history of passionate dedication to conservation and ecotourism to the project, and they engaged Aspect Architecture to take the previous Green Mountain Campground and revolutionise the site, creating an array of sustainably-designed facilities with the least possible impact to the local environment. Positioned within the Lamington National Park, the campground has access to lush rainforests, ancient trees, spectacular views, extensive walking tracks, all with exceptional ecological importance and natural beauty.

Both aesthetically and functionally the campground is designed to touch the earth lightly, utilising sustainable building practices and blending seamlessly into the surrounding landscape. The main building consists of a skeletal structure, with the sustainably sourced natural timber frame and sweeping roofline reflecting the majestic canopies of the surround rainforest. In practice, the campground is designed to produce no waste, to compost amenities, and harvest its own rainwater, solar power, and firewood.

The project was designed to meet the needs of three different parties: the clients, the users, and the environment.

The new facilities consist of a series of structures following the contours of the site, each presenting different options for campers, including raised glamping type safari tents, powered RV camp sites, and unpowered standard camp sites. The main building, a communal camp kitchen, provides the opportunity to connect with other travellers, to share meals and stories with a view overlooking the entire valley. Importantly, the sites are designed with universal access for persons with disability.

The project was designed to meet the needs of three different parties: the clients, the users, and the environment. Each structure is nested into the site, intended to meet user needs with the least possible environmental impact. Every element of the site was considered, maximising capture of the view, passive solar, protection from winds, cross ventilation, vegetation preservation, and natural light. Given Queensland’svariable climate, so the sites are designed to open up and breathe, but also to close up and bunker down when the weather is harsh.

The project was designed to meet the needs of three different parties: the clients, the users, and the environment.

O’Reilly’s Campground represents a unique partnership of public and private organisations, with the result being an intentional and unobtrusive campground. The site is strategically designed to provide the opportunity to connect campers with each other, with the shared kitchen facilities and firepits conceived as places to come together and share meals and stories, but most importantly, to connect visitors with the environment. The buildings, while architecturally significant in their own right, are not the focus, but designed for the primary purpose of facilitating the relationship between people and nature.