This project involved the master-planning for a proposed bed & breakfast accommodation-style resort in Eldorado, in rural Victoria.
Eldorado was a former gold-rush era town that still has strong connections with it’s past. Former gold dredging machinery in the area provided inspiration for our proposal, which consists of a series of recycled shipping containers converted into accommodation units/pods. The pods can be pre-fabricated and delivered for assembly, to simplify construction on the remote site. They are arranged in a circular fashion around a central hearth, to enforce the notion of communal living and the simple pleasures of sitting around an open camp-fire in the bush. The star-type orientation also allows for unobstructed views from the units towards the natural surrounding environment.
The units are detached for privacy yet share communal gathering spaces that are covered by a large cor-ten metal ring, which is reminiscent of ancient temples and structures like Stonehenge. Rusty metal cladding and rugged earthy materials are proposed to give the resort a feeling of long-standing permanence and harmony with the surrounding bushland.