The Woollahra Hotel was developed over a 15-year period, commencing with the Bistro Moncur in 1992, to provide a comprehensive mix of office, social, dining and entertainment facilities for a variety of clientele.
On average, food and beverage interiors are demolished and rebuilt in a 7-year cycle – as testimony to enduring architecture and interior design, the Bistro Moncur and adjacent commercial building, including a bottle shop interior, are as designed originally. The Woollahra Hotel has had a more recent relatively minor upgrade guided by our work. The three buildings, bounded by Queen, Moncur and Smith Streets, combine to provide an exceptional, village scale environment appropriate to its location within the Woollahra Conservation Zone.
The upper level of the hotel has been remodelled from a series of service spaces, plant area and roofing to an al fresco bar and dining area – a rare facility in the inner Eastern Suburbs – which flows through to an internal bar, lounge and outdoor terrace serviced by a new commercial kitchen.
The triptych of buildings forms a complete block within the predominantly residential neighbourhood. The materials and detailing include zinc panelling, fine steel windows and blades, articulated concrete frames and curved corner elements – all of which respond to the historic fabric of the area in a contemporary idiom reflecting values and design thinking that integrates commercial objectives with public domain improvements and distinctive architecture.
