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words STEPHEN CRAFTI photography JOHN GOLLINGS, SHANNON McGRATH
The Bespoke Touch
architect BATES SMART location MELBourne | AUS PROJECT CROWN METROPOL
Melbourne’s crown metropol takes boutique intimacy to new heights he sinuously shaped Crown Metropol on Melbourne’s Southbank is the third hotel to emerge from the Crown stable, the other two being Crown Promenade and the initial Crown Towers. While the three hotels share close proximity, the intended clientele for each is different. “The brief [for the Crown Metropol] was to appeal to a more youthful market, not only business people,” says interior designer Jeffery Copolov, Director of Bates Smart, who worked closely with interior designer and Associate Director, Kendra Pinkus, on the project. “There’s a sense of glamour,” says Pinkus of the fit-out. “But there’s also an intimacy like you would find in a boutique style hotel.” Creating a sense of luxury and intimacy may be achievable in a boutique hotel with few guest rooms, but the Crown Metropol has 658 rooms. Although the fit-out looks as though no expense has been spared, as always there is a bottom line. “I was given a credit card to purchase art and objects, but the amount was fixed. It wasn’t just about buying things that caught my eye,” says Pinkus, who sourced furnishings, art and sculpture, both locally and internationally. Initially, Bates Smart presented the Crown Board with storyboards filled with images which included detailing from a leather jacket worn by a person strolling through a park and the patina of a stone wall in a city lane, suggesting style and relaxation. “The word ‘sensual’ was one of the key words in the brief, as was the word ‘tactile’,” says Copolov. Tactility is expressed in finishes and details throughout. Patricia Urquiola’s ‘Smock’ chairs, with uniquely textured, smocked sides, can be found in the reception, and the carpets throughout, designed in collaboration with NIBA Rug Collections’ Miami studio, provide further texture. Copolov and Pinkus discovered NIBA at a trade fair, and resolved the design
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Opposite The reception,
with Patricia Urquiola ’Smock’ chairs and colourful Niba carpets, is full of texture Left Custom George Nelson-inspired pendant lights above the pool on Level 27
long distance. “The palette is quite neutral. Most of the colour comes from the carpets and some of the soft furnishings, such as cushions,” says Pinkus. Colour was a specific requirement in the brief given to Bates Smart. Initially the designers leant towards using Tibetan carpets, for their hand-crafted finishes and sophisticated colours. “There’s something quite beautiful about Tibetan carpets, with their hand-dyed yarns, but they weren’t appropriate for commercial use. They wouldn’t have been sufficiently robust. Over a thousand people walk across this area every day,” says Pinkus. The designers at NIBA, however, were able to produce hard-wearing carpets imbued with wonderful colours from blues and purples through to coral tones.
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Far Left Handwoven screens enclose private dining booths in the Maze restaurant Left A wall sculpture made from twigs in the Maze restaurant Below Antique books add colour and texture in the Club 28 lounge on Level 28
“ The word ‘sensual’ was one of the key words in the brief, as was the word ‘tactile’ ” Jeffery Copolov, Bates Smart indesignlive.com
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Above Level 1 Plan Below Neutral fixtures in
the guest rooms Opposite Luxurious patterns and textures in the day spa on Level 27
The American White Ash used in the hotel’s foyer and Maze restaurant – owned by Londoner and celebrity chef, Gordon Ramsay – is another tactile material used in the fit-out, and was sandblasted to expose the distinctive grain. An upgrade for a hotel is typically required every eight to ten years. While soft furnishings can be easily changed, installing new vanities and wall units can be expensive. Thus, Bates Smart selected neutral bathroom and kitchen joinery. “We could afford to be more adventurous with curtains and bed linen,” says Pinkus. But even here, fabrics were methodically tested for durability and performance. “We must have tested hundreds of fabrics and looked at as many floor tiles,” she says. Bates Smart originally suggested marble bench tops in the bedrooms, but as marble marks, a reconstituted stone was used instead. “Each room has to be capable of being cleaned in 40 minutes,” says Copolov. “The choice of materials and the way each room is designed also needs to meet occupational health and safety standards.” Thus, the beds are custom-designed so staff making them can’t catch their fingernails. Mirrors are also custom in size to ensure easy cleaning, and should coffee or other beverages spill, bedside tables have removeable liners.
To create a layered and boutique ambience, Bates Smart collaborated with several artists. The penthouse apartment, for example, is filled with exquisite objects and bookshelves are lined with antiquarian books. Many of these books were bought at auction, and were chosen for the colour of their covers – black or shades of teal blue – as much as for their texture, with some covered in linen and embossed in gold leaf. It’s all about adding to the feeling of bespoke luxury in every detail. Pinkus also worked with artists, David Band and Chicago-based Fraser Taylor in developing individual art for each of the 658 rooms, and each screen-printed work is hand-painted. “We gave them four different colour schemes to work with,” says Pinkus. “They had a week to create the entire production.” Other collaborations came courtesy of the joiner. Joe Iacono of Design Sense who, with Bates Smart, created the weaved screens used in the Maze restaurant. Rather than use traditional wicker, normally woven when wet, a team of experts, including one who is blind, wove plastic to form the screens. “It’s a certain skill that requires the most agile fingers,” says Copolov. Over-sized lanterns, seven metres high and two metres in diameter, in the swimming pool area also proved a challenge: having to be resistant to mildew. Inspired by post-War designer, George Nelson, these lanterns are covered in lycra, like a swimsuit. “It wasn’t just about working out how we were going to make these [with Design Sense], we also had to design them in such a way that the lights could be changed,” says Copolov, who devised a way of removing the central element with minimal disturbance. While the Crown Metropol is bespoke to the last book, it was achieved within a fixed budget. On the 28th floor, for example, two Patricia Urquiola chairs are covered in fabric that was over $200 per metre. This indulgence was balanced with wall sofas, made in China and covered with fabric that cost $20. “It’s about making things appear luxurious,” says Pinkus. “But they have to be robust and functional, irrespective of cost.”
Stephen Crafti is Indesign’s Melbourne correspondent.
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In discussion Key people from the interior design and client teams reveal what went into making a 658-room hotel feel bespoke
Jeffery Copolov – Interior Designer & Director Bates Smart
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effery Copolov sees the success of Crown Metropol as being partially attributable to having an integrated design of the building and interiors. “I was involved in the design of the building from day one. You can see that the exterior informs the interior and vice versa. The interior design team were involved in how the building was sited and how it fitted in the Crown
complex of buildings.” This is evident in the charcoal colour of the aluminium window frames, which is integral to the interior palette, just as the bluestone tiled floors continue from the interior to the forecourt. “When you’re also designing the building, you know exactly where structural columns need be placed. The same can be said of the positioning of rooms and ensuring the correct orientation.” Copolov sees this holistic design approach as being fairly unusual in the hotel world. “If you look at hotels in the States, for example, decorators, independent of the architect, are brought in for the soft furnishings. Here, at the Crown Metropol, it’s a total package.” One of Crown Metropol’s most distinctive features is its sinuous S-shaped form. Oriented to the northeast to capture the light and city skyline, this form also allows spaces to feel more intimate. “We were conscious of creating a sequence of experiential spaces. We wanted guests to meander and discover things as they progressed though each area.” One of the many surprises for
guests is experienced on level 28, referred to as Club 28. Featuring a lounge with a sculptural fireplace, the floor plate terminates with a glass wall overlooking the pool area below. Similarly, the Maze restaurant, on level one, cantilevers over the pavement below. Rather than one rectangular space, it ‘snakes’ along the side of the black glass tower. The dining areas were fully developed before Gordon Ramsay came on the scene. Designed to seat 300 people, from breakfast through to dinner, the aim was to make these spaces feel comfortable for solo diners and large groups. “There’s nothing worse than someone eating alone feeling as though they’re sitting in a vast cafeteria.” Ramsay made a couple of changes to Bates Smart’s design, including several enclosed dining spaces, which are now framed by woven screens. “He [Ramsay] was particularly easy to deal with, unlike the character he shows on television. Most of the changes related to the kitchen area and particular ways the food is prepared.”
Kendra Pinkus –Interior Designer & Associate Director
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endra Pinkus refers to her design approach as layering. To create a bespoke boutique feel, Pinkus drew on the talents of several emerging and mid-career artists. “One of the galleries I visited had these wonderful ceramic sculptures sitting on the director’s table.” She traced the work to Tim Clarkson, a final year sculpture student at RMIT University. Others, such as artist Chen Yu, an established artist, were discovered at an art fair in Hong Kong. Yu’s fluorescent painting, located at the entrance to Club 28, has a hologram effect with its reflection found in the glass wall bordering the swimming pool below. Other artists were sourced locally from Adelaide’s JamFactory. Pinkus also used books on ballet, art, architecture and design to create a cultural environment. “It was quite chal-
lenging at times. Jeffery and I would go to auctions and bid on books by the lot. We were particularly drawn to black books. And if there were several black books in one lot, we were extremely keen to get it. For the apartment [the luxurious multi-room penthouse], we wanted to create the sense of someone being given keys to a friend’s apartment and finding an array of beautiful things inside, both new and old.” While art and sculpture can be appreciated in isolation from their environment, the challenge for Pinkus and her team was to ensure sculpture and space became one. At Maze, for example, there is a substantial wall sculpture made from twigs designed by David Band that frames the dining spaces. “It’s like following bread crumbs in a forest – the branches lead you to the next space.”
Pinkus attributes the end result to not only the artists and designers who collaborated on various elements within the hotel, but the time spent searching for the right elements, whether a certain textile or a particular ceramic. “Jeffery and I would walk into a place with hundreds of things. But we’d both focus on the same thing. It was quite uncanny.”
Peter Crinis – Executive General Manager – Hotels & Retail for Crown
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rown started to look at this site four years ago. Discussions centred on what would be the best possible use for this land. “This area was becoming a strong centre for conventions and conferences [the nearby Convention Centre, with seating capacity for up to 5,000, was well under way]. Our economic modelling suggested the best scenario was for a boutique-style hotel, a place that catered for those attending conventions as well as the general tourist market. “We didn’t want just another hotel like those that already existed. It had to have the feel of a boutique, but cater for a large number of people. We did mention the word ‘luxury’ in our initial briefings.” Crinis was thus inspired by some of the luxury hotels around the world, including the Landmark Oriental Hotel in Hong Kong and The Standard in New York. Bates Smart’s S-shape response to the elongated site impressed Crinis and the Crown Board. “Wherever you are in the hotel, you’re never looking down a shotgun corridor. The bend in the spaces sets up unexpected vistas.” Models of rooms were set up in a nearby car park, and a number of key people in the tourism industry and convention market tested these models. One of the designs in a standard room featured black painted walls. “Ninety per cent of people loved these walls and a few were unsure. We decided to go with it.” The shoji-style woven screen separating bathrooms from bedrooms was initially presented to the Crown Board. “They warmed to the idea straight away, believing that it offered a sense of space, as well as providing more than sufficient privacy. “The Crown Metropol was clearly not designed for only a few people. Everything had to look great, and feel bespoke. The last thing we wanted was a hard edged place of concrete and stainless steel.” indesignlive.com
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Previous Page A private
dining booth in Maze left The building’s sinuous curves and detailed façade reflect the interiors, demonstrating the benefits of an integrated design
ad Crown Metropol ARCHITECT Bates Smart PROJECT TEAM Roger Poole (Design
Director), Kristen Whittle (Design Director), Fulvio Facci (Associate Director, Site Architect), Claudia Fleuter (Associate Director, Project Architect), Roger Chapman (Associate Director), Mirjana Sazunic (Associate Director), Andrew Raftopoulos (Associate Director), James Christophidis, Mark Di Bortolo, Tony Antoniou, Brian Mason, Alex Zudich INTERIOR DESIGN TEAM Jeffery Copolov (Interior Design Director), Grant Filipoff (Associate Director), Kendra Pinkus (Associate Director), Jan Eastwood (Associate Director), Anke Pfeiler, Ben Nicholas, Simone Morgan, Hilary Griffiths, Amanda Furness. CONSTRUCTION Baulderstone SERVICES AND STRUCTURAL ENGINEER
Aurecon
QUANTITY SURVEYOR Rider Levett
Bucknall
EARTHWORKS Delta Group LANDSCAPING John Patrick FIRE ENGINEER Thomas Nicholas FAÇADE CONTRACTORS G.James Glass &
Aluminium (Tower), Minesco (Podium)
PROJECT MANAGER Jinton GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Fabio Ongarato Design
FF&E PROCUREMENT Cairncross Martin BUDGET $300 million TIME TO COMPLETE 36 months TOTAL FLOOR AREA 66,000m2 BATES SMART
(61 3) 8664 6200 batessmart.com.au FURNITURE In Reception, Moroso ‘Smock’
chairs and ‘Phoenix’ tables from Hub Furniture, and SpHaus ‘Bucket’ armchairs from Format Furniture. On Level 1, Walter Knoll ‘Ameo’ armchairs from Living Edge, Matteograssi ‘Arete 01’ chairs from Classique, ‘Chylium 1’ chairs from Hub Furniture, and ‘Bench’ from Samuelson Furniture. In Maze restaurant, custom tables and table tops designed by Bates Smart, bases are McGuire ‘Chaparell’ from Cavit & Co, ceramic table tops by Brian Keyte, ceramic tiles on tables from Skepsi on Swanston, ‘Manilla’ bar stools by Andreu World America from Living Edge, Bonacina ‘Chylium 1’ chairs from Hub Furniture and
ice buckets from Parterre. In Level 3 Break-out, Walter Knoll ‘Flow’ chairs from Living Edge. On Level 27: In Pool, Rausch ‘Sahara’ sunlounges from Cosh Living and ‘Bukawu Chillout’ daybeds from Satara. In Juice Bar Reception, custom coffee tables by Meizai. In Spa Lobby, EMU Italy ‘Heaven’ tables from Format Furniture. In Club 28, Walter Knoll ‘Turtle’ lounge chairs from Living Edge, Moroso ‘Fjord’ bar stools and armchairs and ‘Antibodi’ armchairs and Bonacina Pierantonio ‘Nastro’ sofa from Hub Furniture, and bookcases and tables custom designed by Bates Smart, installation by David Sequeira, Moroso. In Suite C, Zanotta ‘Lama’ lounges from Space Furniture and Ligne Roset ‘Stash’ side tables from Domo Collections, Andreu World America ‘Manilla’ dining chairs from Living Edge, EMU ‘Heaven’ ottomans from Format Furniture, Gervasoni Spa ‘Log’ side tables from Anibou, and Design House Stockholm ‘Tablo’ side tables from Vincent & Vincent.
Space Furniture, heat lamps are custom designed by Bates Smart, manufactured by Design Sense. On Level 28, Driza freestanding lamp from Blauet, available from Tangent Light and Foscarini ‘Twiggy’ lamp from Space Furniture, polished black stainless steel light fitting over bar is custom designed by Bates Smart.
LIGHTING In Pool, pendant lights are custom
ARTWORK
designed by Bates Smart, manufactured by Design Sense. In Maze restaurant, pendant lights are Forscarini ‘Allegro’ available from
FINISHES Carpets are custom designed by
Bates Smart and NIBA Rug Collections, manufactured by Brintons Carpets. In Pool, Turquoise crackled tiles from Perini. In Maze restaurant, custom size slate wall tiles in ‘China Bark’ from Edwards Slate, Organica mosaic tiles from Urban Edge, sandblasted black granite counter top custom designed by Bates Smart.
FIXED AND FITTED In Maze, woven screens
are custom designed by Bates Smart and manufactured by Design Sense.On Level 28, fireplace from The Good House.
In Lift Lobby, Guest rooms Corridor on Levels 8–26, sculptures by Tim Clarkson from Skepsi on Swanston.
Alternative Surfaces 1300 760 877 alternative surfaces.com.au Anibou (61 3) 9654 5222 anibou.com.au Brintons Carpets (61 3) 5226 3200 brintons.net Cavit & Co (61 3) 9509 2722 cavitco.com.au Classique (61 2) 9331 8826 classique.net.au Cosh Living (61 3) 9281 1999 coshliving.com David Sequeira (61 2) 6281 3187 davidsequeira.com Design Sense (61 3) 9357 2464 designsense.com.au Domo Collections (61 3) 8803 8803 domo.com.au Format Furniture (61 3) 9639 6060 formatfurniture.com Hub Furniture (61 3) 9652 1222 hubfurniture.com.au Living Edge (61 3) 9009 3900 livingedge.com.au Meizai (61 3) 9279 2800 meizai.com.au NIBA (1) 305 573 1355 nibarugs.com Parterre (61 3) 9576 3022 parterre.com.au Perini (61 3) 9421 0550 perini.com.au Satara (61 3) 9587 4469 satara.com.au Samuelson Furniture (1) 888 289 4489 samuelsonfurniture.com Skepsi on Swanston (61 3) 9348 2002 skepsionswanston.com.au Space Furniture (61 3) 9426 3000 spacefurniture.com.au Tangent Light (61 2) 9698 5088 tangent@tangentlights.com.au The Good House (61 3) 9421 3400 tgh.com.au Vincent & Vincent (61 3) 9585 0130 vincent2.com.au
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