Xsquared Architects is delighted that our Davey Street Hotel project in the heart of Hobart has received approval to proceed. This premium hotel will add to the suite of luxury accommodation on offer along the Hobart waterfront.he development will replace several redundant buildings at 28-30 Davey Street and reactivate an important city corner block at the rear of Sullivans Cove. Located next to the Hobart City Council Centre, and adjacent to the former Gibson’s Mill and City Mill buildings, the hotel will have commanding views over the River Derwent and Franklin Square. It will also enhance pedestrian activity and cross-town linkages in the precinct, with a restaurant and retail outlets at street level and conference facilities on upper levels.
The brick podium reflects the scale of neighbouring heritage buildings and the predominant materiality of buildings within the Cove area. It resolves into a formal, respectful facade over the main entrance on Davey Street but cuts away along Brooke Street to provide a human-scale backdrop to street level activity and to enhance visual connectivity between the street and the interior. Upper levels are set back from the podium to reduce the visual mass of the building and to allow the introduction of a technically advanced curtain wall skin. The highest floors are set back further and include landscaped balconies which will be perfect for viewing New Year waterfront fireworks.
This upper level glazed skin includes layers of fritting to achieve varying levels of transparency and opacity and to give the building its unique character. Light falling on the building creates an ever-changing pattern of shadow and texture when seen from outside, while maintaining visual privacy. When observed from within, the fritting pattern frames the outstanding and uninterrupted views across Sullivans Cove to the east and across the city towards kunanyi/Mount Wellington to the west.
