The Hotel Bondi, at Bondi Beach, has been reinvigorated by Investec with the completion of a $60 million high-end apartment development, The Beach House.
Designed by architects MPR Design Group (MPR) and built by Ganellen, Beach House activates the surrounding streetscape and creates anew mixed-use precinct.
Originally constructed in 1919, The Hotel Bondi was one of the first buildings to be constructed along the beach front. During the 1920s the majority of the existing buildings on Campbell Parade were completed. The Hotel increased in size until the 1970s when it comprised the original building, the BomBora Bar, a night club and two retail tenancies. It is listed as a Heritage item by Waverley Council.
Click here for the full project fact sheet, including design features and materials.
“The international reputation of Bondi Beach was kept in mind throughout the design process. We created a modern building that takes its cues from the iconic heritage Hotel,” said Brian Meyerson, principal of MPR Design Group.
The building incorporates 40 apartments across seven and eight levels, with 16 retail spaces set over a 2 level car parking basement adjoining The Hotel Bondi. The project responds to the challenge of having three street frontages and being located next to one of the most iconic buildings in Bondi.
To meld the modern with the traditional, MPR say they incorporated Stucco finishes and smooth finished external masonry walls, off-form concrete, frameless glass and alucobond cladding was used for the balustrades.
Timber was used to create a “beach” feel with hardwood timber decking, overhead recycled timber pergola members and weathered timber cladding used in the arcade. Further reinforcing the beachside look cobblestone and off-form concrete was used for the paving in the arcade
Heritage concerns also guided the design of the Curlewis street frontage where existing Hotel architectural features such as cornice/parapet levels were maintained.
“The view and proximity to the beach are the obvious features for these apartments and we utilised this in both the way we designed the building and the materials used. In essence we wanted it to feel like a relaxing beach house for the occupant,” said Meyerson.
The building was designed with three separate lift cores to minimise internal common passageways and ensure maximisation of natural light as well as aiding cross ventilation in apartments.
The small lift core layout also permitted a number of apartments to have dual frontages to both Bondi Beach and Gould Street.
The Beach House contains nine one bedroom apartments, 14 two bedroom apartments and 17 three bedroom apartments and accommodates 97 parking spaces.
MPR collaborated with Burley Katon Halliday on the Interiors which feature solid timber floors to acoustic underlay, wool carpets and imported Vietnamese patterned tiles.
Hand painted “V jointed” shiplap board cabinets and wall finishes were used, referring to ‘both a relaxed beach lifestyle and an Australian beach house of yesteryear’.
