ARCHITECTURE MEETS ARCHAEOLOGY
16 Aug 2018
Recently revitalised as a heritage entertainment venue, the Blast Furnace Park in Lithgow now features an Exeloo public amenity block that reflects the history of the area while offering a modern and durable facility for people of all abilities.
The Blast Furnace, City of Lithgow, NSW
The City of Lithgow is an historic area in NSW, including some of Australia’s greatest natural wonders such as the Blue Mountains. Named after William Lithgow the first Auditor General of NSW, Lithgow also harbours a hidden jewel of the industrial Age; Blast Furnace Park, which has recently been activated as a cultural heritage destination and venue for events, performance and exhibitions. Built in 1886, the blast furnace was originally established to produce pig iron. As a leading industrial archaeological site in NSW, the City of Lithgow decided to upgrade the site and repurpose it as a cultural and arts area.
EXELOO DESIGN
Exeloo was engaged to provide an attractive, modern and accessible public toilet with an exterior that maintains the heritage of the site. Working closely with the Lithgow project management team, Exeloo created a stunning example that married new and old technology. Their low impact prefabricated buildings ensure that installation is quick and easy, and the small footprint means units can be installed where space is minimal, while reducing any disruption to the public.
The prefabricated design means the buildings can also be relocated if usage changes, eliminating the need to demolish and rebuild, which saves the city money and preserve the original asset investment. 
The left side depicts the miners collecting the iron ore
THE EXELOO JUPITER
The City of Lithgow selected a fully automated Jupiter unit that is programmed to automatically open and close each day, eliminating the need for separate security visits. The opening and closing times can be adjusted remotely using the Exeloo web-based monitoring system, ExeWeb, saving both time and money.
The Jupiter unit got its chance to truly shine at the LightGlow Light and Heritage Festival event on 12 May 2018.
“The amazing [event] showed what a fantastic place Lithgow Blast Furnace is, and how much the local community loves it,” said Lithgow City Council Mayor Stephen Lesslie. “Several thousand locals and visitors enjoyed a wonderful night of music, entertainment, light and sound.”
The accessible design of the Exeloo Jupiter twin public toilet system was chosen as Mayor Lesslie observes. “There were quite a number of people in wheelchairs at the LithGlow event, able to move around the site and through the ruins along accessible platforms and pathways, something that simply wasn’t possible before. The installation of accessible toilets now makes the site even more accessible and open to a greater range of visitors. It also increases its capacity to hold future events.” 
The back depicts the opening of the furnace in 1866
FREE DESIGN SERVICE
Capturing period settings can often create a powerful sense of community belonging. The Exeloo design service is offered free of charge and the team’s ability to transform utilitarian structures into design icons for local communities is fast becoming a standard. They have a huge array of design options to ensure your next heritage project will stand out and increase community pride.
Exeloo public toilets have user comfort at the core of the programme design with safety, hygiene and social inclusion the core pillars of the design philosophy, founded on a construction system that is built to last.
