From the Resene News – issue 4/2011

The chair - lifeguard tower

The Chair, a new lifeguard tower at Woodend Beach may not be the biggest project, but it’s certainly memorable. It is also an award winner. Designed by Architect David Hill, who had patrolled the beach as a surf lifesaver in the 1980s, it has won a Canterbury Architecture Award.

The marine ply cabin is finished in Resene TimberLock to preserve the timber, Resene Wood Primer and two coats of Resene Lustacryl semi-gloss waterborne enamel tinted to Resene Tulip Tree (ruddy yellow gold), Resene Bright Red (pure red) and Resene Black White (grey white). The galvanised steel box supports were degreased then finished in Resene Armourcote 510 and two coats Resene Uracryl 402 urethane for maximum protection from the harsh environmental conditions and salt spray.

With a challenging site to work with, it was constructed and painted off site, then taken to the beach at low tide and craned into position. The structure needed to be relatively maintenance free due to its isolated location.

It is manned for just six weeks of the year and is designed to accommodate three lifeguards. The tower is accessed via a ladder that the lifeguards collect from the neighbouring camping ground each morning and carry over the sand dunes. As it is unused for 46 weeks of the year, the tower has been designed to resemble a large deck chair – a piece of oversized beach furniture that acts as a piece of sculpture in the landscape.

Awards jury convener Stephen Crooks said the project was a “simple but brilliant concept, superbly executed. You can’t help smiling when you see this little building sitting amongst the windswept dunes.”

Architectural Specifier: David Hill, Wilson & Hill Architects Ltd
Main Contractor: James Mackay Builders Ltd
Painting Contractor: Wayne Simpson Painting Contractors Ltd
Resene Representative: Haydn George, Christchurch Architectural Services Representative

 
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