Gugan Gulwan Youth Aboriginal Corporation
Project details
Location
Canberra, ACT
Client
ACT Government – Major Projects Canberra
01 / Challenge
Challenge
Gugan Gulwan needed a home with room for its work to grow. The Aboriginal community-controlled organisation supports children, young people and families across the ACT, bringing cultural connection together with practical support. Redevelopment of its Wanniassa site offered the opportunity to provide more space while maintaining a familiar address.
For the ACT Government and Gugan Gulwan, the brief reached beyond accommodation. The setting needed to welcome people, allow privacy and make room for gathering outdoors. Around the building, paths, changes in level, existing trees and new planting had to work together as part of that experience.
Gugan Gulwan’s building and outdoor gathering area in Wanniassa.
02 / Response
Response
Redbox Design Group contributed landscape architecture to the project, addressing the relationship between the building and its outdoor spaces. The landscape brings planted edges, paved gathering areas and places to sit into the everyday routes around the centre.
At the entrances, planting sits alongside paths and steps, with stone blocks and low walls giving definition to the spaces between the building and street. Beyond the doorway, curved seating edges and a paved courtyard provide an outdoor setting with room for people to gather. Established trees give the new work a connection to the surrounding landscape.
The wider design includes a private gathering place and fire pit, with cultural meaning shaped through the involvement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The landscape supports that setting without treating the outdoor areas as leftover space around a building.
Planting, paths and stone blocks along the building’s edge.
03 / Outcome
Outcome
The completed facility opened a new chapter for Gugan Gulwan in March 2025, providing a purpose-built home for the organisation’s services. Outdoor spaces extend the centre’s range of settings, from planted approaches to places for gathering away from neighbouring activity.
The project subsequently achieved five-star certification under Green Star Buildings v1.0. For Gugan Gulwan, the new home brings space for its work and a considered landscape together at the address its community already knows.
The entrance to Gugan Gulwan, with planted beds and established trees.
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