Carr was engaged by longtime client Walker Corporation to craft a refined arrival experience for Festival Tower’s lobby and café, a premium commercial building set within a reinvigorated 5000 square metre public realm featuring restaurants, bars, landscaping and event spaces. Building on the award-winning projects of Parramatta Square in Sydney and Collins Square Business and Events Centre in Melbourne, Carr and Walker Corporation are aligned in the commitment to high-end and timeless interior design.
Surrounded by sites of civic, cultural and architectural significance, such as the Railway Station, Parliament House and the Adelaide Festival Centre, Festival Tower intends to celebrate the heritage surroundings through tactile and carved materiality. The architectural approach by JPW carries a strong repetitive linear language throughout. With variations of scale and texture, the considered insertion of architecture once again reinforces the existing heritage features.
Speaking on the main drivers of the interior design response, Associate Emily Clarke says a strong desire to activate and enhance the pedestrian experience informed the internal concept. “The loggia acts as a central spine which encourages connection and movement through to the external walkways. To either side of the loggia along the periphery, two purposeful zones are activated. Along the North, the lounge offers an opportunity to pause and recalibrate. To the South, in the Café, is an activated space to socialise and connect.”
The loggia, as a main thoroughfare, showcases expansive volumes of space to allow for traversing through and within. Anchored forms bound this zone, providing comfortable and inviting areas on the outskirts of the main connection’s pathway. From all vantage points, considered detailing of the detailed forms are integrated. The concierge presents a solid silhouette in precast concrete and carved travertine that intends to mirror and blend harmoniously with the architectural forms.
Being an interstate project for Carr, the design team worked closely with the client, suppliers, builder and consultants to achieve a rich design outcome with “bespoke and crafted elements”, says Emily. “The sculptural trees, cobblestone floor and carved travertine panelling to the concierge desk all required a collaborative process of prototyping and workshopping to get right.”
The material palette, like the architecture, evokes a colour tone that takes cues from the heritage surroundings and draws visitors in. Subtle detailing that is referential of the strong linear language is integrated into joinery and loose furniture items.
Bench seating bordering the street extension encourages moments to stop with considered detailing to all angles. A cohesive and integrated lounge-style banquette grounds the space, offset with beautifully crafted armchairs with side and coffee tables complemented by low-level integrated lighting. Built-in planter units to the back of the banquette soften the overall atmosphere.
As one of the key design moments in Festival Tower, the North lounge and South café are also home to sculptural Ficus trees that provide softness and intimacy to contrast against the monolithic and expansive architectural forms.
The Café stands in contrast to the main lobby, asserting its presence with a bold, solid dark base and dynamic stone elements. Light mesh panelling offers subtle screening for the coffee station while seamlessly integrating the rear wall and entry. As with the rest of the space, the café aligns with the architectural panelling, maintaining symmetry through shared geometry, yet it distinguishes itself through a contrasting texture, most notably in the interplay of mesh and stone.
The arrival of Festival Tower befits its landmark destination. Voluminous yet refined, the lobby and café work with the architecture to create an internal thoroughfare that is anchored and activated.
