Taranaki Street Kiosk

The Taranaki Street kiosk development was driven by 3 key design principles. These were; marking the important corner site at the interface between the Courtenay Place entertainment precinct and the Manners/Cuba Mall precincts; enhancing the heritage of the existing structure through two new clearly articulated components; and activating the surrounding public space through high quality urban design providing active frontages, light, shade and shelter and contributing positively to the vibrancy and amenity of the Courtenay Place entertainmentprecinct.

The project began as a request for development proposals from WWC, owners of the heritage listed former male toilets on the corner of Taranaki Street and Courtenay Place. Athfield Architects worked with Simon Niblett and Nardi and Enzo Bresolin to design a Pizza & Gelato kiosk providing takeaway New York style pizza, gelato andcoffee.

The underground men’s toilets originally built in 1911 are the only remaining example of the city’s public toilet structures from that era. The building situated on what was once a traffic island has had a discrete but enduring presence on the busy street corner. The adaptive re-use of the toilets comprises of two simple components, a zinc clad extension and a steel and timber canopy, both grounded by the original heritage brickstructure.