Client: Binna Burra Lodge
Event Management: Relative Creative
Dome Cover: Fabric Solutions
Dome Frame: The Dome Company
On September 10th 2019, bush fires destroyed the historic original Binna Burra Lodge (before and after photos below)
The Dome Company erected a new custom cover 10 metre dome on February 16th, 2021 which was used for the Gondwana Festival opening ceremony.
Challenge
Design of custom dome canopy
No direct access to site.
Building in wind and rain.
Solution
The custom canopy with huge clear vinyl ‘windows’ facing east and west and featured coloured triangles on top, was expertly created by Fabric Solutions
All dome material had to be hand-loaded up to the top of the hill. The canopy bundle was rolled up, and 250 dome ‘struts’ carried by hand.
The Dome Company proprietary lifting equipment (tripods and chain blocks) can be used even on windy days to lift our domes safely with the covers bundled up on top and rolled down at each level. No automated equipment is needed and no working at heights is involved.
The frequent showers and rolling clouds made an interesting 6 hour build
Setup and execution
The Gondwana Festival opening event was held in the dome on the site of the original Binna Burra Lodge.
“The festival occurred in key locations across the Scenic Rim, and the opening event was designed to remind audiences of the episodic super continental shifts, geological formations, human triumphs and cross-cultural friendships that weave together a story of how we might come to know this beautiful place.
The opening event included a vision for guests to arrive at Mt. Roberts, the exact place where the burned down Binna Burra Lodge once stood. Here they were encouraged to contemplate the absence of the traditional lodge through the presence of an architecturally peculiar, temporary and futures-orienting geodesic dome. The dome features two 6 metre wide panoramic windows that frame the east and west views across the mountain peaks. On the inside of the dome, guests viewed a projections designed by Relative Creative that features a montage of soft and slow linework graphics of tracks, paths and icons combined with artist Renta Buziak’s memorising time-lapses of her biochrome photography that captures decaying flora form South East Queensland.
Key to the opening event were offerings including a Kap Mauri, which was cooked and served by the Building Strong Families Foundation (a Kap Mauri is a ground-oven cooked feast originating from the tip of Australia), spoken word by Mark Cora, and a dance by performance artist Alicia Jones, a cross-cultural Welsh-Tasmanian indigenous woman. Sound design and lighting production was by Levinge Events
Outcome and benefits
Testimonials
Conclusion
“After the devastating 2019 bushfires, the historic Binna Burra Lodge in the Gold Coast hinterland suffered extensive damage. For 86 years, this lodge had been a beacon for bushwalkers, stressed executives, and children on school camps. However, it now stands as a charred ruin with an uncertain future. The fire destroyed most of the business, including the heritage-listed cabins, the dining area, the lounge, and the library. Since its opening in 1933, hundreds of thousands of people from around the world have visited Binna Burra Lodge, which is surrounded by the Lamington National Park. Despite the tragedy, there is a strong desire to rebuild and restore the site to its former glory, capturing its rich heritage and history. Message of support have poured in from all over the world, emphasizing the lodge’s significance and the determination to see it rise again.”
The Sky Dome was sold to The Dome Company and has found a new home on a private property near Brisbane in 2023.
