Yitpi Yartapuultiku Cultural Centre
Designed in conjunction with the City of Port Adelaide Enfield and Ashley Halliday Architects, Yitpi Yartapuultiku is located on Yerta Bulti, the Port River. It is a unique place where visitors can connect with Aboriginal culture and develop a deeper appreciation and respect for Country. It features a diverse range of offerings, including guided cultural tours, ceremonial event spaces, nature play areas, a living shoreline, art exhibitions, community services, and educational programs — all set within a beautiful natural landscape.
Kaurna culture is embedded into the landscape and architecture of the site. Trails, storylines, and local cultural references are represented, including Tiilbruke, Taltaityai, Lartelare, the Mudlangga to Yertabulti track, and various animal totems. All trails arrive at the ‘joining place’, a central place at the heart of the project. The building form is prised apart to form a sheltered space. At the same time, the separated building creates framed views of the river and the hills.
Kaurna custodians, the Yitpi Yartapuultiku Aboriginal Working Group and Brave and Curious generously shared their time, cultural knowledge and guidance throughout the unique co-design process. It focused on yarning and modelling with kinetic sand to allow the custodian groups to shape the site with their own hands, explore land forms, build mounds, and form the site’s edges. This approach enabled everyone to discuss how cultural practices and narratives could be expressed, overlaid, and embedded into the project design.
Brought to life by Sarah Constructions and Outside Ideas, the centre is now open for the local community to enjoy.
The project was showcased at the 2023 International Architecture Exhibition La Biennale Di Venezia, in the open archive of the Australian Pavilion ‘Unsettling Queenstown’.
Warwick Keates, director of WAX, reflected on the project saying, “This project is a testament to the visionary thinking, generosity, and courage of the Kaurna community. Being part of this incredible co-design process, and seeing Yitpi Yartapuultiku come to life has been an honour and privilege”.