01 Sep 2009
The Studio Pacific proposal for a set of new public WCs on the Kumutoto site has been gaining headlines lately.
Selected by Wellington Waterfront through an internal design competition as the most interesting and exciting proposal from a selection of challenging design concepts, the toilet facilities are a bold and sculptural artistic addition to the popular area on the waterfront. Composed of two separate structures, each cast from a series of concentric concrete rings, the forms are fitted externally with a series of steel shells, providing both a rugged, practical roof and a visual reminder of forms resident below the nearby harbour surface.
The unisex toilet facilities each feature a sculptural tail that rises up, providing natural ventilation and adding to a slightly zoo-morphic form. While challenging concepts of traditional toilet facilities, the irregular, twisting shape of the two forms will animate the corner of the waterfront and provide much needed public facilities to the popular pedestrian route along the promenade, and becoming an attractor in their own right.