A new-build 16-storey hotel in the centre of Melbourne, this project was generated from the particular architectural and cultural identity of the city of Melbourne. The proposal incorporates a fully engaged ground floor plane with shops and the hotel lobby facing Russell Street and hospitality venues opening onto laneways. The building also includes a first floor event space & balcony over the street , along with a roof top bar. Planning permission was granted in 2020 & construction is to start in the first half of 2021.
The mass and form of the proposed building derives from the significant nearby twentieth-century buildings, resulting in a highly modelled façade. Depth and shadow is achieved through the deep wedges of tinted pre-cast, which in turn rests on a hefty brick plinth with massive reveals. Street activation is extensive and nuanced, creating multiple new activities and interfaces along the street frontage and laneways that surround the site. Designed and specified to achieve best practice sustainable design, the building will be carbon neutral in operation.
The approach to materiality is integral to the design, with a focus on the:
Tonal: all selected materials sit within a limited tonal range to emphasise their natural textural qualities.
Textural: quality materials with integral colour and texture, including pressed bricks with tonal mortar, tinted pre-cast concrete & corten steel
Durable: material selection is predicated on the concept of a building improving with age