Tourist architecture for Tasmania's landscape : architects' responses to the natural landscape

Tourism in Tasmania has increased rapidly over the past five years, with visitor numbers swelling by 73% between 1998 and 2004. Tourism is vital to Tasmania's economic and social wellbeing and has resulted in an unprecedented growth in Tasmanian tourism infrastructure. The rise of tourism has led to the call for improved facilities, which are sensitive to and acknowledge the natural landscape, to enhance the 'visitor experience'. Additionally, this growth requires an increase in the number of facilities, such as accommodation and visitor centres, to support visitors' needs. Therefore, it is timely for local authorities, planning bodies and architects to consider the architectural design and placement of these facilities. This study investigates how architectural solutions for tourist developments can derive from, and interpret, Tasmania's landscape. It examines six case studies of tourism facilities located near or in Tasmania's natural landscape: Ken Latona's Bay of Fires Lodge and Cradle Huts, Morris-Nunn & Associates' Strahan Visitor Centre and Forest EcoCentre, and Terroir's Peppermint Bay and the Hazards Development for Federal Hotels & Resorts. There is no existing theoretical framework for interpreting the work of Tasmanian architects and their response to the natural landscape. As a result, a set of four criteria, derived from Kenneth Frampton's concept of 'Critical Regionalism' (1985), has been employed to assist with the review and evaluation of each case study. These are response to site (landscape), culture, climate and materiality. In identifying the architectural response to the landscape through the case studies examined, similar threads and concepts were identified, first within each pair of buildings by each architect, then across all six case studies. As a result of the case study analysis, the following recommendations can be made for future design of tourist architecture in natural landscapes. First, it is vital to understand and learn from the site; effective architectural responses came from those architects who spent time on the site prior to and during the design process. In doing so, these architects were able to identify the best site for the building, which came from an understanding of the key features of the site, such as topography, vegetation, aspect, orientation, climate and genius loci. Second, it is important for architects to understand the climate and solar access across the site throughout the year, as light is a key element in Tasmanian architecture. Third, it is imperative that architects design buildings with a minimal building footprint and little impact on the site. This provides the option for deconstruction: to dismantle and remove the building at any time, leaving no trace. Fourth, the use of locally sourced and produced materials, such as timbers, stone and steel is recommended, as this reduces embodied energy and transport costs, and provides an enhanced sensory experience for tourists, through touch, smell and vision. Finally, and most importantly, the intuitive response of the architect must be respected and his or her suggestions of response to site and surrounding landscape. It was found that while architectural responses to the natural landscape were different, each architect responded intuitively to the individual sites. The findings of this study suggest that a 'Tasmanian experience' can be provided for visitors, with minimal disturbance to precious and natural landscape, through a careful and sensitive understanding of and response to site.