The proposed Australian Opal Centre is a museum, exhibition, research and education facility at Lightning Ridge, which is an iconic mining town in New South Wales, Australia, with the largest deposit of black opal in the world. The project will generate it’s own power, support the collection, storage and recycling of water, have on-site management of waste systems and incorporate passive heating and cooling systems. Substantially embedded, it takes advantage of the earth’s thermal mass and incorporates passive systems of cooling derived from ancient Middle Eastern desert architecture. Within the building a gently inclined ramp leads the visitor away from the extraordinary expanse of the white and pink stone landscape to a lower level holding subterranean exhibitions of Australian natural and cultural treasures, and a Cretaceous garden supports ancient plant species from the Gondwanan period. The architecture of the Australian Opal Centre is a direct and legible expression of ancient, elementary environmental systems applied to local circumstances.