The National Hotel was a Victorian era pub that has been reinvented and gone on to win this year's Small Commercial award.

The original building was over a hundred years old and had been subject to a series of bad renovations which led the architects to approach the project with a utilitarian sensibility. 

There is no tiling, carpet, chrome, aluminium or plasterboard in this project. The few painted surfaces employ zero VOC paint, manufactured locally from recycled engine oil.

The architects explained that in their approach, "everything is robust and unpretentious, everything serves a purpose. A rich and textural palette of recycled materials replaces the typical use of high embodied energy building products."

The judges praised the renovation for the synergy of using what they could from the old building yet including modern design features to emphasise sustainability.

"The National Hotel involves a quirky, innovative use of recycled materials that would otherwise be considered waste. There is a simple intelligence, plain good common sense borne out in the design solution.  It’s robust and not pretentious."

They went on to say: "The fabric and the original identity of the building are retained, only reconfigured to meet a modern design aesthetic without an excessive use of materials. Yet with the stripped back material palette and innovative use of materials there is still an element of the richness of the interiors. All combines to meet strong design criteria with a low impact outcome."

A new awning was designed to shade the north facing glazing and was calculated to allow winter solar access only. This awning was made from a recycled truck tarpaulin, complete with hundreds of hand sewn patches, stretched over a mild steel frame.

A waterless urinal system has been included and a 9000 litre of rainwater stored in 9 x 1000 stackable poly-boy tanks which is used to flush the toilets and water the garden.

 

INITIATIVES

  • A new awning was designed to shade the North facing glazing and was calculated to allow winter solar access only. This awning was made from a recycled truck tarpaulin (complete with hundreds of hand sewn patches) stretched over a mild steel frame.
  • The interior walls were stripped of plasterboard & imitation wood panelling, whilst layers of sticky carpet were peeled from the floor.
  • The remaining concrete floor & masonry walls were exposed to harness their thermal mass.
  • The existing fixed glass windows were replaced with operable performance glass to allow the space to be naturally ventilated.
  • The natural ventilation was augmented with wall mounted fans & evaporative cooling.
  • All of the refrigeration equipment for the bar has been specified with remote condensers (taking all of the heat loading from under the bar to outside the building)
  • The ice machine has been located on an external wall and its condenser is vented directly to outside air.
  • The entire south wall of the hotel opens up to the courtyard to the south. The entire wall of the dining room can be opened up via massive sliding doors in summer & close down in winter.
  • The rear courtyard was enclosed with a 3m bagged-recycled brick wall for acoustic protection of the neighbours and then planted out with tall clumping bamboo to the west.
  • 2.6kw Bosch Solar array
  • 400litre gas boosted evacuated tube solar hot water system.
  • LED and CFL lighting
  • Infrared natural gas radiant heating (onto thermal mass)
  • Solar gain reduction in warmer months (with new awning)
  • Natural Ventilation (new operable windows)
  • Wall fans
  • Evaporative Cooling (to augment natural ventilation if required)
  • Water Efficiency
  • 9000 litres of rainwater stored in 9 x 1000 stackable poly-boy tanks. This water is used to flush the toilets & water the garden.
  • Waterless urinal system.
  • Caroma smart flush 4.5 / 3litre toilet suites.
  • Recycled timber and tarpaulin cushions form large seating clusters around concrete and steel tables. All concrete on this project is E-crete containing recycled fly-ash. Steel cages overrun by vines separate the booths from each other.
  • Recycled fence palings cut to form timber tiles reminiscent of the exposed lath and plaster ceilings above, hold recycled polyester acoustic batts and provide acoustic attenuation for intimate discussions.
  • The courtyard, decked in recycled boards, is enclosed by tall, recycled brick walls from which a repurposed army tent has been stretched out taut to shade perimeter banquette seating clad with old stair timbers.
  • Exterior partition walls of mismatched concrete blocks laid on their side in a hit and miss pattern, provide separation, connection, texture and shadow play. 5-watt compact fluorescent lamps in amber glass bottles hang from catenary wires across the courtyard, abstracting Chinese lantern strings.
  • A 2.5kW solar panel array and a solar hot water system complements the low energy output of the National. With climate management left to occupant sensibility, refrigerative conditioning is non-existent. Forming an unpretentious layer to the bagged recycled brick backdrop of the walled courtyard, rainwater is collected in black recycled caged tanks, plumbed to the toilets.
  • A concealed services platform locates of refrigeration equipment remotely to reduce internal heat loading, while also housing kitchen plants and a worm farm.

Photography by Andrew Wuttke