The Longest long drop: Public toilet up in trees

Taupo has its Super Loo and Kawakawa its Hundertwasser toilets - Rotorua could end up with The Longest Drop.

Rotorua district councillors have been presented with the concept for a new set of toilets proposed for the Redwood Forest Visitor Centre.

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Rotorua-based architectural designer Darryl Church was asked for an "iconic" design for the new toilet block in one of the city's most visited destinations.

He has come up with a concept that includes The Longest Drop - a toilet raised 5.5m up in the forest canopy, with one-way mirrored glass that would allow users to see out but stop those below from seeing in.

Access to the toilet would be via a spiral staircase and below it would be other toilets that blended into the surrounding forest. The toilets would be accessed by a boardwalk and combine functionality with art, with designs for light fixtures and door handles by local artist and sculptor Jamie Pickernell.

The council budgeted $200,000 for new toilets at the visitor centre, to be completed in the next financial year, but the estimated cost for the Longest Drop concept is $500,000.

Mr Church was quite excited by the project and saw it as an opportunity to turn a functional building into a work of art.

"The opportunity here is not to just build some toilets, it's an opportunity to create something recognisable for Rotorua."

Mr Church said he wanted to create an experience that was as spectacular as the natural environment in which it stood.

"It does not need to be 100 per cent purely functional and being part folly can be an attraction in itself. People are attracted to unique structures."

Councillors on the customer services committee were told standard public toilets could cost between $80,000 and $100,000 for each cubicle - built to last but not pretty to look at.

Councillor Karen Hunt said she was taken by the Longest Drop idea. "It's an absolutely fabulous idea. I'm a firm believer in functional artworks. There's no need for anything we use to be ugly and every reason for them to be beautiful."

She said Rotorua needed to stand out and people should not look at just the cost but see the project as an opportunity to build a unique structure that could attract more people to the city.

"It has to be done anyway ... so what would people prefer? An ugly toilet block or something visually stunning and functional?" Councillors will discuss the possibility of finding another $300,000 for the project at budget meetings next week.

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