Rafael Contreras (MArch DRL 2009) has been featured in Dezeen, DesignBoom, and the Australian Design Review with his project ‘The Living Coral Biobank’, which proposes the world’s first dedicated coral conservation facility in Queensland, Australia. The facility will work to secure the long-term future and biodiversity of the coral population across the world, through threats such as climate change.

Contreras, whose firm Contreras Earl Architecture developed the project alongside Arup and Werner Sobek, described the building as a ‘living ark’, integrating renewable energy to create optimal conditions for coral storage. The form of the building takes inspiration from mushroom coral, Contreras commenting that ‘the ambition for this project is to create a beacon for environmental awareness – a centre of hope, learning and wonder.’