Welcome Shelter update

It’s time for an update on the Longbush Welcome Shelter. As we head into winter, preparations are being made at Longbush for the onset of some wetter weather. Our stormwater drains are all working well thanks to much help from our friends at Mico. We now have enclosed interiors and I’ll be moving on to fixing our joinery and cladding soon.

I’ve also been working on the drawbridge structure and hinge arrangement. This key part of the project will allow the ecologist and his team to run volunteer demonstrations across a large level platform - from inside to out.

All of the openings in the building have now been prepared to take our beautiful timber joinery from Nicks Joinery. This cedar and rosewood joinery will be stained a deep red colour, the same red as the seed capsule that sits in the centre of the flowers of the manuka. Winter planting has also been in full flight at Longbush, with a 1000 trees being planted in the past week throughout the ecosanctuary.

On a different note, I recently had the pleasure of presenting the project to the judges of the Interior Awards. The project is at the core of a nomination for the Emerging Designer of the Year award at this years Interior Awards. The awards will be announced later this month. At the heart of my presentation was the unusual quality of what we are doing with this project. Never before has such a diverse range of partners come together to create a piece of public architecture in New Zealand.

All the very best, Sarosh Mulla