United Places - Botanic Gardens South Yarra | Carr Design Group

Working to the site constraints of a maximum 12m building height; imposed in order to maintain views from within the Domain precinct of the Shrine of Remembrance, the design proposal sought to achieve the most accommodation out of the site’s 436sqm footprint. With a single point of access from Domain Road and the Botanic Gardens directly opposite to the north and the adjacent rooftops of the low scale Domain precinct of South Yarra; the site depth afforded an architecture with varying view opportunities and spatial qualities. The project was always going to require the highest level of refinement and precision as we worked to the site constraints to achieve 3 levels of hotel accommodation and two floors restaurant offering over the 12m maximum building height above pavement level. The tracery of the Botanic Gardens plane trees and the desire to primarily focus the occupants’ connection to view from the inside out led to a design response for the architecture that echoed and enhanced shadow play across the façade. The references to brutalist architecture are intentionally strong as we intended to create a building of obvious permanence with a jewel like quality of refinement. With an unobstructed viewline façade being the priority, the architecture layers a finely detailed filigree of a precious metal in the form of anodised bronze toned sections as the primary building language. The profile of the bronze section connects across the façade to frame vistas, become balustrade supports and in turn a deep set handrail detail. Each hotel room balcony to the northern frontage is lined in a beton brut (timber boardform) concrete to echo the textures of the context. The intermediary detail is an assembly of no less that 100 precast concrete sections that interlock with the anodised sections, each section embedded with a charcoal chip that on close inspection and touch presents as another jewel-like element. The ground floor entrance is composed of a continuous rhythm of black powdercoat aluminium angles, providing consistency of detail to conceal the required building services cupboards before opening up in their spacing to articulate the discreet hotel entrance. Each of the 12 boutique hotel suites planned above are dual aspect to enable light and cross ventilation to each space, accessed via a monochrome gallery like entrance at ground, lined in the same beton brut concrete and aluminium slatted wall; punctuated by an ovoid skylight to bring natural light into the lobby. The hotel room planning again seeks to maximise connection to view from each space. Shower pods clad in a charcoal tint; one-way mirror sit at the centre of each plan type, flanked by a spine wall of joinery to house the bedroom bedhead, storage, bathroom vanities, laundry and kitchen utilities in sequence. The definition of the shower pod enables the bedroom to be a distinct and discreet space from the entertaining areas, important for longer stay and business travellers, whilst at the same time enabling views north to the gardens or south to the Domain precinct from the bedroom. Focussing more on the lateral views of the context the interiors are deliberately neutral in the base building architecture, enhanced instead through a richness in the fabric and soft furnishing selections. Cementitious skim finishes line the walls and ceilings, connecting at all times to the concrete finish of the façade and beyond to the gardens and rooftops of South Yarra.