PROJECTS
GPO Project
;)
SEARCH
It used to be a place to post and collect letters, send telegrams, make telephone calls and pick up social security payments. While still a place of exchange, Brisbane's Fortitude Valley Post Office has recently become the signature site for the GPO Hotel, an eclectic mix of restaurant, bars and corporate entertainment venues.
Its listing on the Queensland Heritage Register is indicative of its architectural and social value and of the challenge and responsibility facing Paul Hecker, the principal interior designer from Hecker Phelan.
The revival of the two-storey historic Post Office that has remained vacant since its relocation in 1996 has restored the buildings ornate Victorian Italianate fa硤e back to its former glory and integrated it with a radically chic and contemporary urban interior.
The contribution of the GPO hotel to the cityscape is most noticeable at night while walking or driving past. Scarlet red light spilling from the interior through window and door openings creates the impression of a place that is raw, pulsating, provocative, yet at the same time inviting and reassuring. This paradox, which typifies the design generally, is tempered through an astutely controlled interplay of interior design elements and exterior architecture. The building's original mouldings, motifs and cast masonry embellishments -used to define windows, doorways, parapets and pediments -have been preserved along with the open verandas and their cast iron columns and railings.
The GPO Hotel comprises 2 bars located in the 1887 section of the building, a restaurant and function room in a renovated two storeyed brick extension constructed in 1970, and a wine cellar and gaming room situated in a new purpose built building flanking the Ann Street end of the original building.
Situated at 740 Ann Street in Brisbane's thriving inner city commercial and social precinct of the Valley, the 'GPO' represents the pinnacle of style with two large bars, function room, wine cellar, gaming parlor and dining experience with the Telegraph Restaurant.
The GPO was the first redevelopment of its kind in the Fortitude Valley precinct featuring a mix of unique historic architecture and modern interior design and offering a cosmopolitan lifestyle for the up market 'movers and shakers' of Brisbane.
The GPO Hotel offers many entertainment options achieved via a very practical, sensitive and elegant interpretation of the original Post Office site.
The GPO houses two large bars - the "GPO" and "Code" bars, a main restaurant -"Telegraph", a "GPO Cellar", "Gaming Parlour" and multi-purpose corporate function room called "740", with car access.
Smothered in deep charcoal, warm grains of wood, mocha cream walls and complimented with lashings of mail room red, sleek lines, larger than life artworks, lush couches and shimmering curtains, the GPO has unmistakeable ?urban chic? style and downtown sex appeal!
From the thick red and cream carpet in the ?Telegraph? Restaurant to the massive stone bars and ceramic tiles in the main bar, Brisbane?s GPO is beautifully finished and promises to be the hippest new hang out and entertainment venue for the well-heeled and well informed.
The GPO is the first redevelopment of its kind in Queensland that features this eclectic mix of ornate historic architecture and modern interior design to offer a contemporary and innovative experience with a ?twist?.
The adjoining cocktail bar is where you can relax after dinner on retro white leather loungers amidst thick chocolate brown and cream striped carpeted floors for a comfy and slightly naughty midnight retreat. Also, lavish in the discrete private room lined with fully imported Italian fabrics - which add to the innate historic ambience of the original interiors and to revolutionise Brisbane?s lost cocktail culture.
The walls are splashed with larger than life commissioned abstract artworks by artist David Band.
"The brief was to create important pieces that were an interpretation of the alcohol brands represented at the GPO." Hecker said.
The final touch is the spectacular ?GPO Wine Cellar? which has been constructed to adjoin the historic building on Ann Street.
The GPO Cellar adds a ?wild card? to the exterior of the building with its unique style of understated funk. A simple ?square box ? in deep ?old English? flavoured timber hooks itself up to the buildings original fa硤e - contradicting its ornate structure yet personifying the GPO?s philosophy of ?thinking outside of the box.?!
Wherever possible the GPO has retained the architectural integrity of the building. Principle Interior Designer for the GPO from Hecker Phelan, Mr Paul Hecker, said that one of their strengths was the ability to work creatively within the existing fabric of the buildings in order to create magnificent contemporary spaces that compliment the historic and physical context of the original post office.
"We have not concentrated on what is merely ?fashionable?. Instead we have created something that transcends fashion and is timeless, comfortable and absent of any modern gimmicks.
"We wanted to create a new experience. A place where people feel comfortable and can celebrate the essence of Queensland?s lifestyle, climate and environment.
Hecker said that the materials and fabrics selected create warmth and have a ?feel good? quality that will age gracefully.
"Therefore we have utilised an innovative, sculptural approach to lighting, fine quality materials that reflect the inherent nature of the building as well as to access the available resources to produce unique and unexpected effects.
Hecker said that although the sheer age of the building inspired him to preserve its heritage aspects he also designed its interiors around the ?clean and fresh? mood of Queensland.
"The GPO is very open and conveys a sense of freedom.
"The building has an amazing presence due to the impressive 4m ceiling heights and large masses of volume. They are like huge gallery spaces and we have kept it simple by taking in the architectural detail that exists and thinking about it in terms of its sculptural qualities.
Although there are no literal references to the original post office, Hecker said that they had utilised subtle ways to respond to the buildings original function as a post office.
"Red is a dominant colour to reflect the historic nature of the original post office. It is a systematic colour that returns throughout the whole space and is used in conjunction with a series of neutrals.
The restaurant has a light Danish feel. As you move through the spaces they become richer in colour and the cellar is a very rich dark neutral with splashes of red that creates a change in mood and atmosphere.
"The bars follow clean lines and ?ground? the space. They give presence within the immense rooms.
"The bars form the hub of hotel. They are over scaled to suite the room?s grand scale and volume.
Hecker has also chosen large over scaled artworks by Scottish artist David Band that have a unique beverage theme as well as furniture that is both functional yet has something ?sculptural? in its nature.
"Everything has a dual function from the lamp shades to the plush internal fittings and finishes.
|
|
