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2014
Architectural Design
the ghost & mrs muir (drifthouse)
By
- multiplicity - design architects
- mcleod homes - builder
- kersulting - engineer
- asa building consultants - building surveyor
- fraser brown c/- lovell chen - heritage consultant
Description
port fairy is a township with heritage credentials in an idyllic location
add to the equation a desolate, seemingly haunted, turn of the century bluestone terrace, the home of an old sea captain sitting on a highly exposed corner site opposite the river moyne and you have a story
this story is about our client/s and their conviction to make a sea change, to do so respectful of their new home while fully cognizant of the contribution architecture and design can make
our brief was to make that difference, to ensure via design the project was a success which it is
Key Features
1
a key feature of our clients business plan was they wanted a product that would attract visitors to it irrespective of it’s location and to do so they realized they could use design as a tool, to craft a unique holiday experience
as such ‘drifthouse’ represents a readily desirable and easily digestible media opportunity
thus far the project has been featured in the australian, the age, broadsheet, casa vogue, vogue living, australian wish, wallpaper and est magazines, as well as being listed on mr & mrs smith attracting a new type of visitor to port fairy, including those booking internationally
2
a key driver in support of the conversion of any heritage place is that it continues to exist into the future
sadly without foresight, creative skill and dogged determination to work around many and varied obstacles and resolve conflicting agendas, a successful solution is often not achieved
this project initially met with strong opposition from locals whom rightly had a vested interest in the collective and social history of their township
on completion however, the clients opened the project for a community charity day and had over 400 people through
all were unanimous in their praise of the design
3
to be respectful of the heritage place, without being subservient and to provide a tangible example of considered architecture and design
in so doing, to propose a new building that sits adjacent but separate to the original bluestone building, shadowing it’s form and successfully forcing a new reading of the place by virtue of the interaction between the two structures
the old salt is crafted and decorative, heavy of form with solid enclosing walls and limited windows
whereas our new building is light both structurally and experientially, sitting quietly, it’s decorative features less obvious, moreso hidden until they unfold
4
in a township known for it’s heritage buildings our client/s had imagined that the apartments within the original heritage dwelling would take precedence with respect to bookings
that has not been the case as the new apartments are equally sort after
the marriage of old and new via a thoughtful design process has allowed each to feed off and benefit from the attributes of it’s adjacent partner
5
our client/s fully understood the concept of design and the contribution it could make to their business venture
to this end there is nothing unconsidered or incongruous within the four apartments or for that matter their diminutive new home
furniture, artwork, objects, even reading material all focus heavily on design, with an emphasis on experiencing pleasure via items that have been considered from inception
as such this business venture bases itself on the idea that design is a medium important to any qualitative experience, be that the way the architecture responds to the heritage place, or the personal experience within