Project
Hotel
Little
National
Taking inspiration from a protected
moth, Redgen Mathieson’s design for
Little National Hotel is a new concept
that brings the idea of affordable luxury
to Canberra’s hotel market.
words SING D’ARCY photography ROMELLO PEREIRA
Hotel
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ARTICHOKE 65
Project
Hotel
1_ PRESENTED AS A WHITE
GLASS BOX, THE HOTEL
LOBBY IS LOCATED ON THE
GROUND LEVEL. INTERNALLY,
A GLASS FACADE COCOONS
THE LOBBY SPACE FROM THE
UTILITARIAN CARPARK.
2_ THE LIBRARY PROVIDES
GUESTS WITH A SPACE
TO WORK AND INCLUDES
PRIVATE AND COMMUNAL
WORK AREAS.
3_ A SCULPTURAL SPIRAL
STAIR CONNECTS THE LIBRARY
AND LOUNGE SPACES.
3
2
66
ARTICHOKE 67
Project
Hotel
3
1Entry
2Bathroom
3Seating
4 Four poster bed
5Wardrobe
5
2
4
1
LITTLE NATIONAL HOTEL TYPICAL GUEST ROOM PLAN 1:1◊◊
What do a multistorey carpark and a critically endangered moth have
to do with innovative hotel design? Stumped for an answer? No, this is
not a trick question from an architectural practice examination.
Instead, it was the real-world conundrum that faced design studio
Redgen Mathieson in its design of Little National Hotel in Canberra.
Clues to unravelling Little National’s curious development are
given as you approach the building. Canberra is known for its broad
avenues and verdant nature strips, but the fenced-off field of
overgrown grass and flowers that adjoins the hotel does not have the
usual manicured appearance. In this small patch lives a colony
of the protected golden sun moth – a factor that greatly influenced
the design of the hotel, both its exterior and its interior.
Further complicating the process was the fact the development was
originally conceived as a four-storey carpark, to which the client then
decided to add two levels of hotel accommodation to the top. This
meant that Redgen Mathieson had to work with the predetermined
carpark grid as the base module for the hotel rooms – all while not
disturbing the moths.
With Little National being located in the suburb of Barton, close
to Parliament House, design codes dictated that the building could
not look like a carpark. Redgen Mathieson director Harlan Redgen
says the studio’s approach was to create an envelope that was
neither overtly residential in language, nor of course, like a carpark.
The carpark’s levels are clad in perforated black metal panels, while
the hotel is faced in black glass. Articulation of the carpark facade is
achieved through what director Phillip Mathieson calls “wings” that
allow ventilation of the levels. The edges of these wings are marked
in the colours of the golden sun moth, providing shots of contrast,
while acknowledging the building’s small but important neighbours.
Little National is the latest addition to development company
Doma Group’s hotel precinct in Barton. The hotel is positioned in the
affordable range of the market, and its owners wanted to offer
“affordable luxury” for the urban traveller “without compromising
aesthetics or design.” This stance is first announced in the groundfloor lobby, adjacent to the carpark entrance. Mathieson says that
the first challenge of the interior was “how to deal with luxury in a
carpark.” Redgen Mathieson plays on this aspect by including a
polished concrete floor that continues the language of the carpark,
offsetting this with the lux of travertine walls and white translucent
glass. The most striking aspect of this entrance space is the
American oak reception desk. Designed as a pair of oversized trestle
tables and positioned askew, the entrance space is a deliberate
tactic to reduce the formality of the experience. By avoiding the
68
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1
2m
monumental stone reception desk cliché, it clearly states that this is
not a stuffy five-star hotel, even though the design standard is just as
good. Hotel manager Kathryn Carling is enthusiastic about the open
design of the desk, stating that it “breaks down the barrier between
staff and guests” and that the lobby as a whole “sets you up for the
experience that is happening upstairs.”
As you exit the lifts on the accommodation levels the first thing
you notice is the generosity of space and the amount of natural light.
A pair of large black-framed mirrors is propped up against the wall,
adjacent to vitrines with paper-cut artworks by Benja Harney inside.
Redgen Mathieson commissioned Harney to create a series of works
inspired by the life cycle of the golden sun moth. These are used
throughout the circulation spaces as wayfinding devices, and also
serve to educate the interested guest. Off the lift lobby are the
communal spaces: the library on level five, and connected via an
extremely elegant staircase, the lounge on level six. As the majority
of the hotel’s weekday guests are visiting Canberra for Parliament
and its associated buzz, there was a need for spaces that could
accommodate meeting and working. The library is furnished with
black-stained joinery with well-designed lamps by Redgen Mathieson,
and upstairs the black theme continues with the monolithic black
granite dual fireplace that separates the lower lounge area from the
upper velvet-clad lounges.
Known for its design and aesthetic rationalism, Redgen
Mathieson has deployed its skills in distilling the essence of a great
hotel room into a compact space. Literally no wider than a bed, the
room contains everything you need for a comfortable luxurious stay
into a few square metres. The standout feature is the four-poster
raised bed that is paired with the full-height glass wall looking out
over Canberra. This creates an intimate feel of a nest, or loft, rather
than a large bed in a small room. Redgen says that this was a “big
gesture in a small room,” while Mathieson adds that in “such a small
space it becomes all about the bed.” Carling assures that staff have
no problems making the beds. Rather than carpet, Redgen Mathieson
pushed to have solid timber flooring, and the charred-finish timber
further adds to the experience.
Little National is the fourth hotel project Redgen Mathieson
has worked on with Doma Group. Mathieson says that unlike working
with a large hotel chain they are able to work directly with the client,
meaning “there is no rule book.” By challenging the notion that
“luxury” always equates with “large,” Redgen Mathieson has proposed
a new model of hotel that while compact on space is still big
on experience. A
4
4_ THE COMMUNAL LOUNGE
ON LEVEL SIX INCORPORATES
COMFORTABLE FURNITURE
AND TWO FIREPLACES.
THE LOUNGE HAS VIEWS TO
PARLIAMENT HOUSE AND
MOUNT AINSLIE.
5_ THE GUEST ROOMS ARE
BASED ON THE SIZE OF A
CARPARK SPACE. THE ROOMS
ARE PLANNED EFFICIENTLY,
WITH A KING-SIZE BED AND
A LARGE PICTURE WINDOW.
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ARTICHOKE 69
Project
Hotel
6_ THE HOTEL IS LOCATED
ON TOP OF A FOUR-LEVEL
CARPARK. DARK METAL
PANELS CLAD THE BUILDING,
AND EDGE STRIPS IN BRIGHT
ORANGE GOLD REFERENCE
THE GOLDEN SUN MOTH.
1Entry
2Reception
3 Seating area
4Office
5 Luggage room
6Bathroom
7Lifts
8 Printer area
9Servery
10 Raised platform
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project
Little National Hotel
21 National Circuit
Barton ACT 2600
+61 2 6188 3200
littlenationalhotel.com.au
design practice
Redgen Mathieson
102/16–28 Foster Street
Surry Hills NSW 2010
+61 2 9280 4100
[email protected]
redgenmathieson.com
project team
Harlan Redgen, Phillip
Mathieson, Tom Bunting,
Sarah Fish, Amy Seo
time schedule
Design, documentation:
12 months
Construction: 15 months
builder
BLOC
engineer
Sellick Consultants
project manager
Doma Hotels
lighting
S4B Studio
landscaping
Redbox Design Group,
Darren Dimoff
documenting architects
May + Russell Architects
products
walls and ceilings
Sapphire Aluminium
perforated metal screens
to carpark in Colorbond
‘Monument’ with gold
anodized edge. Groundfloor lobby walls are
saw-cut and honed
travertine tile from PDA
Marble and Granite. Guest
library and lounge walls
feature Lea Ceramiche
Slimtech tiles in ‘White’
and walls painted in Dulux
‘Grey Pebble Half.’ Hotel
room walls painted in
Dulux ‘Grey Pebble.’ Hotel
room bathroom flooring is
Milestone tiles in ‘MAR 351’.
windows
Lobby windows are framed in
white aluminium with white
translucent glazing. Guest
library and lounge windows
70
are framed in aluminium in
Colorbond ‘Monument’
with clear glazing.
doors
Clear glazed sliding doors
into guest lounge and library
with etched logo decals.
Doors to hotel rooms painted
in Dulux ‘Mud Pack.’
flooring
Lobby flooring is polished
concrete. Guest library
flooring is Tongue ∞ Groove
Eterno Classic European
oak timber boards in ‘Hekke.’
Guest lounge flooring is
Lea Ceramiche Slimtech
tiles in white. Guest rooms
use engineered dark oak
floorboards.
lighting
Recessed round downlights from Efficient Lighting
Systems. Quadra recessed
square wallwashers and
Quintessence recessed
square downlights, both
from Erco.
furniture
Maxalto Cronos sofa from
B∞B Italia in guest lounge.
Guscio two-seater and
armchair by Flexform in
library, lobby and guest
lounge. Peter stool by
Flexform in lobby. Feel
Good Ten ottoman by
Flexform in library and
guest lounge. All Flexform
furniture from Fanuli.
bathroom
Custom-made towel rail
and solid surface vanity.
Gallery Whiteley Collection
basin and shower mixer with
fixed spout in chrome
finish. Grohe Tempesta
shower system with Power
∞ Soul handpiece. Innova
Zana wall-faced toilet suite
with soft-close seat. Inovita
Lab Double toilet roll holder
in chrome finish.
other
Various custom-made
furniture pieces by Redgen
Mathieson. Tapetti rugs.
Commissioned artwork by
Benja Harney. Enzie spiral
staircase at guest library and
lounge with European oak
treads and white-painted
plasterboard balustrade.
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3
3
1
10
3
7
3
LITTLE NATIONAL HOTEL LEVEL 6 GUEST LOUNGE PLAN 1:25◊
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1
3
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3
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LITTLE NATIONAL HOTEL LEVEL 5 GUEST LIBRARY PLAN 1:25◊
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6
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2
1
3
7
LITTLE NATIONAL HOTEL GROUND FLOOR LOBBY PLAN 1:25◊
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2.5
5m