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The National

Type
Completion
2012

Location
Richmond, VIC

Builder
Ficus Constructions

Photographer
Andrew Wuttke

The Victorian-era National Hotel found itself in a new century, in the Chinese quarter of Victoria Street, disconnected from the community it is now a part of. The National has been re-imagined to respond to its present context in which 21st century China has shaken its image of a quaint, exotic and mysterious land; presenting instead a more contemporary and vast manufacturing and economic power.

Calling for an architecture of utilitarian sensibility, everything is robust and unpretentious, everything serves a purpose. The Victorian shell was stripped of 100 years of renovations, down to its bones and internal workings. The space was then divided into ‘provinces’ and governed by one central commanding body: the bar. Monumental, the bar forms a wall stretching the length of the building from the inside to out, enabling staff behind to easily survey and serve patrons in any of the 5 ‘provinces’. Each with its own vernacular, unified yet different.

We acknowledge the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung peoples of the Kulin Nation, the Traditional Custodians of the land upon which The National stands. We recognise their continuing connection to land, waters, and culture.

Awards
VIC Architecture Awards
2012
Interior Architecture (Commendation)
IDEA Awards
2012
Hospitality
BPN Sustainability Awards
2012
Small Commercial
BPN Sustainability Awards
2011
Large Commercial
Press/Media

The National

The Victorian-era National Hotel found itself in a new century, in the Chinese quarter of Victoria Street, disconnected from the community it is now a part of. The National has been re-imagined to respond to its present context in which 21st century China has shaken its image of a quaint, exotic and mysterious land; presenting instead a more contemporary and vast manufacturing and economic power.

Calling for an architecture of utilitarian sensibility, everything is robust and unpretentious, everything serves a purpose. The Victorian shell was stripped of 100 years of renovations, down to its bones and internal workings. The space was then divided into ‘provinces’ and governed by one central commanding body: the bar. Monumental, the bar forms a wall stretching the length of the building from the inside to out, enabling staff behind to easily survey and serve patrons in any of the 5 ‘provinces’. Each with its own vernacular, unified yet different.

An image of a spiral-bound document
Type
Hospitality
Completion
2012

Location
Richmond, VIC

Builder
Ficus Constructions

Photographer
Andrew Wuttke

We acknowledge the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung peoples of the Kulin Nation, the Traditional Custodians of the land upon which The National stands. We recognise their continuing connection to land, waters, and culture.

Awards
BPN Sustainability Awards
2011
Large Commercial
BPN Sustainability Awards
2012
Small Commercial
IDEA Awards
2012
Hospitality
VIC Architecture Awards
2012
Interior Architecture (Commendation)
Press/Media