Routeburn Shelter

This shelter and toilet block challenges the stereotypical karaka green corrugated iron that one might expect to encounter in New Zealand’s bush clad mountain environment.
Precast concrete walls were chosen because they are long lasting, low maintenance and will absorb thermal energy from the sun. Concrete is in harmony and in tune with the adjacent riverbed.
The main roof form is cranked and pitched up to relate the dramatic spur that is the most obvious landscape feature of the site.
The combined cluster of angular sculptural forms is a reminder of the tectonic forces that shaped, and are still shaping, the dramatic landscape of the area.