Since 1999, Kawakawa, an otherwise undistinguished small town in New Zealand's Bay of Islands, has been equated in the eyes of the rest of the world with its public toilets, sited plumb in the middle of the high street. Viennese architect Frederick Hundertwasser bought a second home on the coast nearby, and when the local Community Board announced they wanted to renew the 40 year old toilets in 1998, he volunteered a design in his idiosyncratic style - and it was adopted, grass roof and all. The design also includes a living Macropiper excelsus tree, after which the town is named in Maori. This was the only building he designed in the southern hemisphere, and it now is probably the most photographed public toilet in the world. The photos below were taken on a cloudy day in June 05 and colour saturation was not all that good - the glazes on the ceramic elements are highly colourful.