Walter Peak Amphitheatre,
Queenstown

Walter Peak was the design for an amphitheater to accommodate a sheep herding and shearing show. This began as a request by the client, Real Journeys, for a new ‘shed’ to accommodate 400 visitors, increasing the capacity of an old ‘wool shed’ used for the purpose. Graham Applin whilst working for Beca, was the Project and Design Director.

The eventual design for an amphitheater arose out of a development of the brief, to use the landscape to create raked seating which was eventually reversed so that the  ‘amphitheatre’ actually faced the ‘bowl’ of the hill. This allowed the demonstration of sheepdogs rounding up sheep, to be part of the show. The design developed even during the construction phases, which eventually a full theatre auditorium was created with 100% views. This was then complemented by the addition of a utility shed drawn and detailed freehand by Graham Applin.