2016 National Architecture Awards: Commercial Architecture Commendation

Jury citation

A refreshing alternative to the timeworn convention of the city hotel, the Alex Hotel in Perth’s cultural centre rethinks the traditional approach to hospitality and provides an experience that is intimate and domestic, encouraging a sense of community and connectedness. Regardless of their dollar value, hotels are often characterized by a sense of intense repetition. The Alex provides a counterpoint to this, both internally and externally, and successfully creates an environment that feels akin to a large and welcoming home. It has been carefully woven into its tight urban site, working well with its varied context, from the fine-grained streetscape on William Street to the significant civic scale of the Alexander Library, its formal composition and use of material and detail mediating the different scales. Its James Street entrance provides a sensitive and well-scaled approach to the urban realm, with the hotel entrance forming the background and its public address and small cafe forming the foreground, enabling it to be embedded comfortably in the city. In its intention to provide a “home” for travellers, the building is also at home in its city.

Read the project review by Hayley Curnow from Artichoke 53.