Location: Clarens, South Africa.

Architect: Mashabane Rose & Associates.

SANParks has initiated a project to build a world-class Interpretive Centre in Golden Gate National Park that will tell the story of the history of dinosaurs in the park and the region. The Centre will be built on the only disturbed ground in the valley next to the Glen Reenen Campsite and will primarily be an interactive museum. It will also become a fully functional scientific research station to preserve the remains of the rich archeological site and continue research going forward. The design draws on the idea that the Drakensberg was a dune-scape which went through three extinction events that slowly solidified the mountains into sandstone cliffs which are so beautifully formed today. The building is a walk-through exhibition space, with the exit leading you out into the nesting site. Areas for research, fossil cleaning and study are planned as an extension of the current work being done by Wits University. The building form is derived from the existing landscape and mirrors the periodic mountain backdrop. By concealing as much of the building as possible under the landscape, the potential negative visual impact of building in the natural environment is minimized.