The John’s Décor Building is listed on the State Heritage Register in South Australia. The original building in Adelaide was built in stages, the first being completed in 1928 and the rest in 1931. The former Hoopers Furniture Emporium building is an example of construction in the Inter-War period, depicting elements of the Stripped Classical and Free Classical styles from those periods. This includes the vertical emphasis of the façade and large arched windows spanning two storeys, which creates the illusion of a floating second floor.
Jim Williams, principal at Woodhead, says an innovative feature of the design was the “integration of air-conditioning, lighting and wiring in a modular suspended grid to allow retention of the original ceilings within the office space. [Also], a new cathedral-like glass entry atrium was cut through the building, linking all floors and allowing an abundance of natural light to permeate the structure and highlight its historical features.”
To deal with the heritage aspects of the building, Woodhead’s approach was to repair and maintain existing heritage features rather than replace them. “This was the second building of this type built for this client and the client understood all the issues associated with the adaptive reuse of heritage buildings,” Williams says.
Original finishes include the unpainted rendered façade with prominently exposed rainheads. Other features include fine steel window frames incorporating steel spandel panels and decorative scrolls to each window apex. Internally, the building retains its original floor plan and detailing, such as the timber staircase that spans from the ground floor to the second level. Other heritage features include original timber skirtings and ceilings, restored Jarrah floors and decorative plaster cornices.
“Many sections of the building were in good condition and could be re-used: façades were cleaned, original windows were repaired, the original ornate grand staircase was enclosed in frameless glass, flexible planning allowed the reuse of the existing lift shaft, exposed services allowed the existing ornate plaster ceilings to remain and Jarrah floors were sanded and re-varnished,” Williams says.
As could be expected, problems arose due to working within the existing structure. This included the reticulation of services. Woodhead dealt with this with integrated air-conditioning ductwork, lighting and cable tray solutions with flexible umbilical power cords to workstations to allow the exposure of existing heritage ceilings, and workstation planning. Also, to create a smoke barrier between floors, Woodhead developed a frameless glass barrier and doors around the stair opening at each floor. This allowed the retention of the existing staircase and provided an effective smoke barrier.
For Stuart White, construction manager at Genworth Construction, the key issues it encountered during the project centred around retaining the existing lift and installing the glass walled entrance in the lobby. “The understated amount of building works associated with the lift installation into the existing shaft and its persistence with all parties [was needed] to provide the correct solution. The lift’s vertical running rails required support from the basement to the roof level. As the shaft was not a standard width, this meant that custom steelwork had to be designed and installed,” White says.
“The lift sliding doors and frame required a 2m wide unimpeded opening. However, the shaft had a stiffener column running from the basement to the roof level, requiring the design and installation of a steel sub-frame effectively setting the door 300 mm back from the front of the shaft. This resulted in a hole in the floor at the lift door threshold and very deep lift-door reveals, all of which required stainless steel cladding. Large glazed openings were also formed in the back of the shaft.”
The glass installation in the lobby had to be safely co-ordinated and installed as the glass to the ground floor was 12 mm thick and 4.2m high, which created issues in installing the panes within the confines of the building and doing it in a safe manner.
For this project, the client appointed Genworth Construction and other subcontractors which had a reputation for high quality detailing and heritage buildings. White says to alleviate the confusion caused by the client taking an active role in the project, an agreement to meet weekly enabled the client to be involved without causing undue delays to the project.
“These meetings included the architect and specialist consultants as required. The scope of works was amended at these meetings to increase buildability and/or reduce the scope of works,” White says.
Since completion, Woodhead has received a Royal Australian Institute of Architects Award of Merit in Heritage for the project, with Williams saying: “An award winning solution is only possible with a good understanding of the project brief and objectives and good communication and interaction between the client and the consultant team.”
Stephanie McDonald
