Forest toilets among world's best

Artist Kereama Taepa and then Redwoods Visitor Centre manager Julianne Wilkinson (now the council's Community Engagement & Events Lead) at the opening of the toilets.

Rotorua's unique public toilets in The Redwoods forest have received international recognition for the structures' designer, Darryl Church Architecture.

The Rotorua-based business was recently selected as one of six finalists in the 2014 World Architecture News (WAN) Small Spaces Awards, won by a Vietnamese architectural firm.

Company director Darryl Church said he was excited to see The Redwoods toilets acknowledged among outstanding projects from all over the globe, by a panel of international judges.

"Our client - Rotorua Lakes Council - was willing to take a design journey with us and rise above the mundane. It would have been far easier to have built another concrete block of toilets.

"Collaborating with the screen artist, Kereama Taepa, brought a special narrative to the project which captures the spirit of The Redwoods forest.

"As a firm with strong roots in Rotorua, having a local project showcased internationally fills us with pride," said Mr Church.

Rotorua mayor Steve Chadwick said a collaborative partnership of the council, Darryl Church, iwi, and Kereama Taepa had produced an outstanding and creative facility which continued to be much-admired by visitors to The Redwoods.

"It's not only highly functional and aesthetically pleasing, but it's also a unique piece of contemporary public art with a strong environmental theme, and absolutely appropriate for its sensitive setting. It's a special place that warranted a special design.

"While not competing with the forest's real attraction, the toilets have actually become an attraction in their own right," said Mrs Chadwick.

"We're very proud of these facilities and we congratulate Darryl and his team for the recognition they've achieved on the world architecture stage. It's an extraordinary acknowledgement of an exceptional design."

The new Redwoods Visitor Centre toilets were an artistic response to demand in an area of high natural beauty and sensitivity.

The cubicles were conceived as individual cylinders of corten steel, with elements of storytelling and Maori art integrated. A public design competition was held to select the final laser-cut art designs for the steel 'shrouds,' with Kereama Taepa's designs chosen for the project.

While the function of the toilets remains uncompromising, the laser-cut steel 'shrouds' transform into landscape art. The Maori inspired laser-cut patterns on each shroud depict New Zealand native birds, some now extinct.

As the cylindrical corten steel has aged, it has inherited a patina and form that acknowledges the adjacent redwood trees, and sits in harmony with their surrounds.