Lacoste + Stevenson toilet amenities
Lacoste + Stevenson is a design based architectural practice established in 1997 by Thierry Lacoste and David Stevenson. As a result of an international partnership, the practice is able to take advantage of both strong local connections together with global influences to produce a distinctive architecture. During the past decade, Lacoste + Stevenson have designed toilets facilities for various locations and clients. On the following pages you will find some examples.
down by the river Location Client Engineer Cost Date
Blaxland Riverside Park, Sydney Olympic Park Sydney Olympic Park Authority Simpson Design Associates $500,000 March 2007
The Sydney Olympic Park Authority (SOPA) which administers the former Olympic site, commissioned a new riverside park with public amenities. The park was design by Hargreaves Associates from Boston and Lacoste + Stevenson Architects designed the amenities. SOPA have a standard toilet block which would have been an inappropriate scale on the riverside. The new toilet pavillions are perceived as receding elements in the landscape; their bulk and scale reduced. As they are also viewed from above, the pavillions are viewed as rusty orange circles along the river’s edge. The pavillions are designed to take advantage of cross ventilation and natural light; breezes along the river move easily between recycled Australian hardwood slats. Natural light filters through between the slats and through a skylight in the rood. All materials are left in a raw state expressing the materiality of each one; oiled hardwood, clear sealed concrete slabs and rusted weathering steel roofs. The exception is the gloss painted underside of the roof in the green, blue and yellow to reflect light.
welcome mat Location Mount Penang, Kariong, Gosford NSW Client Festival Development Corporation Landscape Architect Anton James Design Cost $0.5M Date Completion 2003 Awards 2005 NSW RAIA Civic Architecture Commendation for “Welcome Mat� A new public garden has opened at Mount Penang, Kariong near Gosford. At the entrance to the garden, a red carpet is rolled out across the landscape. Three small pavillions, seemly placed at random on the red welcome mat, housing a cafe, a shop and WCs. The red welcome mat is a metaphor for VIP. The mat is sometimes flat to accommodate seating and queues and somtimes steeper to imitate natural undulating ground plane. The mat is also the surface on which signage is written. The building geometry is simple and modular. They are located in such a way that they form a gateway to the bridge and the garden beyond. Each of the 4 facades is treated differently: One is clad in mirror, another is rythmic slats, a third is covered with climbing vines on a mesh frame and the last is colourful printed vinyl with super graphics. The varied treatments allow different readings of the project. Viewed on arrival the facades are colouful and striking. When viewed from the garden, the timber and mirrored facades recede and reflect in the landscape.
light and airy Location Client ice Engineer Cost Date
Bonnie Vale Camping Ground, Royal National Park, Bundeena National Parks and Wildlife ServSimpson Design Associates $380,000 per ablutions block Stage 1 - 2004 and Stage 2 - 2006
The brief from NPWS for a fresh approach to this type of building included light, permeability, safety and robust materials. The shower and toilet facilities have been set on the edge of the Bonnie Vale camping ground at Bundeena in the Royal National Park, taking advantage of views over the mangroves. The public face of the camping ground is one of pairs of shower and toilet cubicles placed irregularly on the slab under an orthogonal roof. Breezes and sunlight penetrate the buildings continuously, keeping them dry and fresh. Slots between the cubicles allows restriced views in and increases security as does the timber slats elsewhere on the facades. The male + female buildings are made from a simple palette of materials: folded, pre-rusted sheet steel on etched concrete slabs, steel portal frames supporting a translucent sheet roof and timber privacy slats. The interior of the steel cubicles are painted bright blue in the shower and green in the toilets. The basins and taps have been chosen to give the building a less institutional atmosphere. Many of the design considerations were made as part of a strategy to reduce vandalism by humanising the facilities.
Flowers Location Rushcutters Bay Client City of SydneyCouncil Cost $1.5m Date Completion 2010 Rushcutters Bay Park is a very pleasant park opening on Sydney Harbour. The grandstand overlooking the cricket oval is in need of repair. It also became too small to accomodate the team changerooms and the depot of material use for the oval and the park maintenance. This project consist in the addition of 3 little buildings housing public toilets and office and staff facilities for the rangers. Architecturally, they disapear, blending with the original fabric. The timber cladding similar to the grandstand wraps around the buildings, but in order to provide ample ventilation and light, the hardwood boards are cut out with a flowery pattern.
Lacoste + Stevenson 64 Rose Street, Chippendale, NSW 2008, AUSTRALIA [+612] 9310 1555
www.lacoste-stevenson.com.