St Kilda RSL | Studio Y.

The brief for the refurbishment outlined the importance of retaining the familiar feeling of yesteryear for members and punters alike. Craftsmanship is portrayed in the finer details of the timber paneling and waterfall edge detail of the marble look bar top. Custom joinery and shelving were high on the list of requirements in order to display the many artifacts and memorabilia held within the RSL as well as black and white photographs of local members who served in the War. Gallery wall joinery allowed the client to display their prized artifacts and photographs, not only to be admired but to spark conversation for years to come.

Project Innovation/Need

RSL’s don’t always appeal to a broad market therefore our aim was to generate new business for the client whilst retaining a respect for its long serving members. When we first inspected the site it was evident that it required a spruce up in order to bring some excitement back into the 100 year old building. The refurbishment has brought new life into the space, and whilst the aim was to provide a comfortable space for its members, it has opened the doors to new patrons as well.

Design Challenge

The building itself is 100 years old which meant there were plenty of challenges on site.

Years of layering from previous renovations and patch jobs were revealed as demolition occurred. Being a heritage building we had to tread lightly and stripped the previous work back as far as possible to expose the original bones of the building. Overall we created a beautiful balance between the old and the new.

Sustainability

Timber is a large part of our fitout for St Kilda RSL. From joinery to wall cladding our timbers were sourced from local distributors such as ForestOne and Jackaroo Timbers who both have a strong sustainable approach to sourcing timber and support ethical forest management.