Nobbies Centre Phillip Island

The Nobbies Centre Phillip Island, Victoria, Australia, has had a colourful history. Phillip Island Nature Parks contracted Genesis Productions and Crossley Architects to fully renovate and develop the Nobbies building on Phillip Island to reinvigorate the existing facility. They wanted  a destination location interpreting the island, its conservation work and the sea life of Bass Strait. Seal Rocks, about a kilometre offshore is home to one of Australia’s largest colonies of Australian Fur Seals. The island is also significant for its existing colonies of Little Penguins and sea birds, with transient marine populations of whales and sharks.

Crossley Architects and Genesis designed an interactive interpretive experience for the building that developed a sustainable commercial and interpretive attraction and complimented the existing attractions on the island.

The Australian Fur Seal colony on Seal Rock is barely visible to the naked eye from the centre. The latest audio visual technology allows visitors to get 'up close' to the fur seals from within the building and in any weather, using closed circuit video cameras. Visitors can control the cameras located above and below water on Seal Rocks using pan, tilt and zoom controls to follow individual fur seals as they live undisturbed by man on their rocky home.

The building works incorporated the second largest solar panel array in Victoria and was completed in 2006.