Aeriel view of Salt Lake Lefroy
The Don Campbell Land Speed Pavilion
Donald Malcolm Campbell was a British car and motorboat racer who broke eight absolute world speed records on water and land in the 1950s and 1960s. His car, The Bluebird reached 429 mph (690 km/h) on Lake Eyre in 1964, and this was to remain the highest speed achieved by a wheel-driven car until 2001.The Don Campbell Land Speed Pavilion embodies the connection between Campbell’s pioneering spirit and the Australian outback.
The monolithic structure creates a setting for future record attempts in the vast interior landscape of salt Lake Lefroy, Kambalda. The architecture provides a tangible connection to Campbell and a place for recreational activities in the context of the Australian mining town. The pavilion becomes an event catalyst that breathes life into a town focused on mining as a primary industry. Visitors from all over the world flock to racing events and land speed record attempts on the salt lake.
The pavilion shelters spectators and affords an elevated space to view events against the backdrop of the endless salt landscape. The architecture provides a point of reference against which the experience of travelling at high velocity can be measured. The pavilion decays in the corrosive salt landscape, gradually becoming a part of the environment as it weathers.
In collaboration with Damien Heffernan.
View from salt flats
Site model 1:5000
