Structex was engaged as part of a wider project team to design retail buildings for the adventure park village as well as four ziplines that weave down the valley towards it. This was a fast-track project with only ten months between the concept design and completion of construction. The village buildings are exceptional examples of what is possible with modern day timber construction; only one piece of structural steel was required in the café building pictured and encourage responsible construction practices with renewable resources.

The programme consists of 4 building - Cafe / Ticket office / Retail / Bike Store. The brief from the Whistler, Canada based clients was to retain the timber aesthetic that they were familiar with, however add a local twist so as not to parrot a Canadian vernacular.

The cafe concept is based on a folded roof plane draped over a series of timber posts and beams. The roof cantilevers out over a large deck area, with views out to the wider park. The cafe is sited to be slightly elevated, however sits well in its landscape.

The material palette is kept simple across the 4 buildings, using a mix of local Douglas fir cladding, black vertical ribbed colour steel cladding, and translucent Danpalon panels to ensure good natural lighting. Glulam and LVL posts and beams were used where appropriate, with expressed structural details. Interior lining was kept simple and durable (plywood) with a recycled gymnasium floor in the cafe.

This project was a 2017 Canterbury Architecture Awards Winner at the New Zealand Institute of Architects awards:

https://www.nzia.co.nz/awards/local/award-detail/6597

Check out this video from a site visit to inspect the ziplines!