A welcoming all-weather refuge and community space.
Designed as a simple space for the local community and park visitors, the Ben Lomond Public Shelter is a practical response to the area’s striking landscape and unpredictable weather. Developed in collaboration with Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service and through local community consultation, our design overlooks the alpine plateau of northern Tasmania's Ben Lomond National Park's ski fields, meadows and crags through a series of sheltered indoor and outdoor spaces. The park’s rich natural environment is highlighted through the shelter’s blend of timber interiors and local artwork.
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Reflecting the rhythm of the nearby dolerites, the shelter’s muted dark metal exterior settles the design into the landscape during the summer months, while becoming a more distinctive feature of the snowfields in the winter.
The shelter’s design balances two protected outdoor areas, serving as social spaces for visitors to dwell in and rest: the Green Deck, offering wide vistas over the plateau’s unique vegetation and peaks, and the Blue Deck’s alpine views of the ski fields and Legges Tor, Tasmania’s second highest peak. The main communal space is universally accessible and can accommodate up to 100 visitors.
Local artists Edge Atelier have created a site-specific installation that includes stylised topographic lines drawn across the ceiling, and abstract photographs of the park’s flora to complement the shelter’s warm timber interiors.
The combination of the shelter’s simple design, robust materials, and limited colour palette navigates the need for an accessible communal space that is practical, sensitive to the natural landscape, and can withstand intense weather conditions. In the winter, for example, the shelter’s angular form and splayed roof safely sheds the snow away from all entry points.
The modular aspects of the project meant that materials and prefabricated elements could be easily transported to the remote site during its construction.
Light and dark rhythm.
