Nature Calls: This Beach Bathroom Renovation Embraces an Organic Approach To Function

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In the west of Beihai City, China, stands a micro-intervention with a big impact — both physically and intellectually.

Located in an area so rich in nature tourism that depends on it, REEF is a commercial renovation with a bold vision and an abundance of aces up its sleeve. Formerly a bathroom and refreshments spot for people using the beach outside, C&C Design Co. Ltd. have upgraded the facilities and expanded the building’s purpose far beyond those bare necessities.

Part bathroom with foot-rinse showers, part cafe, all observation point, the project is designed to make us think about our relationship with the planet, particularly its seas, while celebrating the immediate environment’s jaw-dropping beauty. Overhauling the main building, new toilets and showers are scattered across an artificial reef space. Made from weather-resistant concrete and metal, these hard-wearing materials were chosen because their texture resembles the inconsistencies of unrefined rock, with their color and feel set to evolve as surfaces weather.

Landscape is the key inspiration for REEF. Individual bathroom stalls are fitted with electric fog-glass, meaning if none are occupied you can walk into the space and see through the screens and out to the stunning setting beyond. A room that can really make an entrance, skylights and windows add fixed view and light entry points, their uneven distribution mimicking the spread of coral and rock across our seabeds.

At the entrance to this ‘toilet grotto’ a coffee bar stands like the start of another system of sea caverns. In turn, this leads through to the kitchen, storage area, staff lockers and changing room. A manmade environment based on how the natural world develops, back outside steps lead down from the cafe area and onto lush tropical sands via the foot showers. This staggered transition is particularly important as it gradually introduces visitors to the natural world from the building itself, without jarringly demarcating these two elements.

REEF belongs to a rare breed of structures that do not follow the clean and often sharp lines of modern architecture’s uniformity. In fact, it’s almost the complete opposite. Although the floor plans do exist, we’ve seen them, there’s a randomized feel to the way the interior has been rethought here, which asks important questions about why we build what we build, how we build it, and why we build it where we do.

Situated in an unspoilt site of outstanding natural beauty, the idea that we should introduce anything remotely functionalist, in the design sense of the word, seems abhorrent and completely out of place. This isn’t a setting for regimented anything or inflexibility. And, in may ways, neither is the world as a whole. Set against a backdrop of organic life which is just that — alive — routine diameters and militaristic distribution would feel like they had been transported here from another dimension and simply dropped in situ.

Although REEF’s exterior structure, which has remained largely unchanged since its past life, delineates it from nature, the topology that has been chosen and the interior design reinforces our connection to the environment. The natural world is governed by systems but, visually at least, often seems defined by chaos and unpredictability. It has been worn and weathered through use and exposure, and slowly modeled to serve a very specific role in a precise location. It’s almost an alternative form of functionalism.

In the firm’s own notes, C&C Design Co Ltd. also point out the relevance of this indeterminate layout to the humans using the facilities. To paraphrase, the space reflects the regularity and frequency of people who will use it, many unlikely to return again. “Today, the construction of scenic service facilities with a unified layout and a pattern is undoubtedly paradoxical, in a sense, it has lost its soul — those diverse, natural, temporal and occasional souls. In a complete natural environment, the atmosphere of the building is inseparable from the spirit of the place. Visitors may not know much about architecture, but they can truly feel that they have a deep intuitive experience and emotional resonance with the nature of this time and place.”

Calling all architects, landscape architects and interior designers: Architizer's A+Awards allows firms of all sizes to showcase their practice and vie for the title of “World’s Best Architecture Firm.” Start an A+Firm Award Application today. 

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