An alpine ruin, brought quietly back to life.
Before it became a lodge, this building was an Antarctic training facility on Tasmania’s Central Plateau. It was derelict and destined for demolition. But the bones were good, the setting was extraordinary, and the opportunity to do something careful within the existing envelope was hard to walk away from.
We designed everything new to sit within the original building footprint. Nothing was added to the exterior. The weathered log cladding, the scars left by decades of alpine wind and snow - all of that stays. It is the building’s story, and it was not ours to edit.
Warm on the inside. Weathered on the outside.
Inside, mezzanine bunk rooms were reworked into private accommodation with ensuites. An upgraded kitchen and amenities support the existing lounge and bar, and a new multipurpose space was created within the same envelope. Additional window openings were placed carefully to bring in more light without interrupting the original rhythm of the log-clad walls.
The design intent throughout was to do as little as necessary. Dark painted surfaces settle visitors into the interior and create a sense of shelter from the exposed plateau outside. The contrast between the rough exterior and the quiet warmth within is deliberate - it is what makes arriving here feel like something.
Step outside and the landscape takes over. Crisp air, spongy moss underfoot, fresh stream water, ancient dolerite boulders, and weather that changes by the hour. The building gives you a place to rest between encounters with all of it.
