The Loo with a View at Mooloolaba is getting a major overhaul, and Sunshine Coast Council has come up with two possible options.
The community can now share their thoughts on the designs, referred to as Concept Blue and Concept Yellow, via council’s survey page.
The revamp is part of the next wave of the Mooloolaba Foreshore Revitalisation project, making improvements to the region’s largest beachfront parkland.
Stage Two of the Central Meeting Place plan will address the existing Loo with a View, its aged state and accessibility issues – while still maintaining public amenities in the same location.
Both the Blue and Yellow design concepts offer similar amenities with viewing decks, meeting places, picnic areas, public toilets, beach showers, landscaping, integrated seawall and a coastal pathway.
The key difference between the two concepts is one separates these elements to prioritise public space and enable more expansive beach views, while the other has the public amenities, viewing platform and event space located in one larger building as occurs with the current facility.
Council says community input will help council determine the final design of the Central Meeting Place, including its new public amenities, which may be reimagined in a new-style building or rebuilt in a similar style.
Bark Architects Co-director Lindy Atkin, who has been engaged by council for the Mooloolaba Foreshore Revitalisation project, said the issues with the existing public amenities building presented an opportunity to “create something better, even more wonderful, and to celebrate where Mooloolaba is today”.
Ms Atkin said there were extensive design constraints in trying to refurbish the existing structure.
“There are significant accessibility issues with the aged Loo with a View and it’s not as simple as just adding extra wheelchair ramps,” Ms Atkin says.
“The two design concepts have been considered from the point of Universal Accessibility and both outcomes include Changing Places amenities, family change rooms, and improved connectivity between the beach and the Esplanade.
“We would normally love to keep existing buildings – we do that in our work all the time.
“But there does come a time when many of the building elements reach the end of their usable life.
“In this instance, to retain the look of the existing structure and bring it up to modern standards, we will need to demolish the whole building and then completely rebuild it.
“We have had conversations with the original Architects, Clare Design, about this project, and even they have said that if you needed to rebuild the building, you wouldn’t build it the same.’’
Architect of the original 1987 Loo with a View, Lindsay Clare, said he was supportive of the design that Lindy Atkin and Stephen Guthrie had created with landscape architects, Place Design Group.
“Mooloolaba’s natural beauty should be first and foremost,” Mr Clare says.
“We have a strong connection to Mooloolaba, and we are pleased to stitch a small piece into the fabric of the foreshore.”
For details on the Mooloolaba Foreshore Revitalisation or to subscribe to project updates, including the upcoming community engagement, visit sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au/mfr.
