NATIONAL FIELD SIMULATION FACILITY (CROPATRON)

CSIRO
Canberra, Australia

Completed 2012
S2F*

The National Field Simulation Facility is a specialised containment glasshouse facility intended to bridge the gap between small glasshouse plant trials and final field trials in open environments.

The facility is made up of four large glass house compartments for crop root research, involving 2-tonne growing soil tubs used to simulate external field conditions (rather than pot-based plants). The facility is designed as a PC2, OGTR facility for GM crop research and also has a single compartment dedicated as a DAFF QC2 quarantine facility. The facility has become affectionately known by all at CSIRO as the ‘Cropatron.’

*Colin and David were lead designers for this project which was completed prior to their founding of L2D Architects.

Images by L2D Architects.