Yarning Circle

Linking to the transformational learning and education of Noongar Culture seen at Nowanup Bush Campus, the Yarning Circle provides an outdoor venue for On Country & Integrated Learning experiences for Curtin students, staff and visitors to the Perth Campus.

Located to the east of Jack Finney Lake, the circular rammed earth seating and large steel canopy provides the Curtin and wider communities a space to pause, meet, reflect and yarn. The location on Campus forms part of the wider Noongar cultural interpretation as it sits in the vicinity of the Living Knowledge Stream, Djridi trail – Zamia trail.

The Yarning Circle project commenced construction in May 2020 and was completed in late August 2020.

• A 6-tonne canopy made of a thatch-work of re-bar. The re-bar creates dappled lighting and a sense of enclosure.
• Rammed earth seating for approximately 10 people in the inner circle, and room for up to 30 more in the outer circle.
• The Yarning Circle is surrounded by thousands of native plants including banksias, flame peas, kangaroo paws and woolly bushes.

The Yarning Circle represents a cultural and educational celebration of Curtin’s Indigenous community, increasing the use of Jack Finney Lake and activating the natural oasis for learning and leisure activities. The project also strengthens the bonds between the Perth campus and the Nowanup Bush Campus, providing a conceptual link between the two.

Curtin University Architecture students, overseen by the project’s lead design consultant, were involved in the initial design development through a Work-Integrated-Learning design program.