A shelter on the shores of a glacial lake in Tasmania curates an uninterrupted visitor connection to the landscape.

Built within the footprint of a former car park in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, the new Dove Lake Viewing Shelter draws on the tones, textures, and history of its immediate context to become a part of a unique natural and cultural landscape. The design balances the primary function of a shelter, a haven for visitors to a remote region notorious for its ever changing weather, with that of an experience — a space that gives pause, one that mediates the external environment for visitors instead of removing them from it.

Enveloped by the landscape

Dove Lake Viewing Shelter’s scored exterior creates a rhythmic pattern echoing Cradle Valley's geological characteristics while also promoting the growth of lichen over the concrete structure in the years to come. Robust materials and finishes were chosen to withstand extreme weather conditions, high volumes of visitors, and provide an enduring space that required minimal maintenance and energy consumption.

Sited carefully to conceal Dove Lake on approach to build a sense of anticipation for visitors, the footprint of the shelter is considerably less than the original car park which occupied the site. Endemic plant species, propagated from the surrounding environment, have been used to rehabilitate previously disturbed areas that are now given back to the delicate landscape.

A gallery framing a unique setting

Conceived as a series of connected cave-like chambers, the minimally-lit interiors draw visitors through a sequence of unadorned corridors and strategically-placed windows. These initially offer only glimpses of the landscape before dramatically revealing wide views of the lake and mountain in the main viewing chambers.

Deliberately void of decoration and modern comforts, the exposed interiors focus the visitor’s attention, slows their movement, and increases their awareness of their own impact on the surroundings. Light appears through ‘cracks’ at junctions between floor and walls, allowing the weather conditions to dictate the interior’s mood and visual tone.

A collaborative design connected to Country and Culture

The building is a chapel in which to contemplate the beauty of the natural landscape, its vast scale and magnitude of time over which it has formed. Etched distinctly on one of the courtyard-facing walls are the words ‘Always Was…Always Will Be’, acknowledging Australia's indigenous past and the Tasmanian Aboriginal community’s continued connection to the area.

Designed in collaboration with Tasmania Parks & Wildlife Service, the local community, and members of the Big River Nation, the Dove Lake Viewing Shelter was built to provide an accessible visitor experience to one of Tasmania’s most valued natural destinations.