Mangawhau Wharepaku

As one of Tāmaki Makaurau’s (Auckland) most visited mangua (mountain), Mangawhau (Mt Eden) attracts over 1 million visitors a year. With that in mind the governing trust board along with Auckland Council approached us to design a block of public toilets located at the drop off site and departure point. A major part of the brief was to minimise both the visual and physical impact of a public toilet on the maunga. 

Naturally finished Accoya (that will silver with time) was constructed into a lattice pattern that forms a screen in front of the entrances to create privacy and soften the visual impression of the wharepaku (toilet).

Structurally, the block is made of a repurposed containership, sitting on steel stilts. As a historic site of a Māori pā, thematically, the intention was for the wharepaku to not be fully built directly onto the maunga, but be placed gently onto the site, just a light touch.