After the devastation of the Black Saturday bushfires that swept through the town of Marysville in 2009, virtually only one building in the town was left standing. The Tower Motel survived. Whilst the physical loss of the historic and fine-grained fabric of the town was devastating, council together with the state government set about creating an Urban Design Framework to guide the rebuilding and seek to frame the guidelines as an opportunity to rebuild Marysville as “a safer, more sustainable town; a town with a distinctive character and a high quality environment...”. With an incredibly tight budget this tiny building intervention had a remarkable and transformative affect on the motel and the town at the beginnings of the rebuilding effort and continues to endure in the shadow of a giant conference centre development opposite.

Questions and Answers

Q. Tell us a little about the client/s – who are they and what (if anything) is unique about them?

The tower motel is a family run business and the clients show a passion and commitment to the well-being of the community, especially in the aftermath of the 2009 bushfires. They were also extremely design-savvy and had an extremely limited budget. They undertook the renovations of the motel-rooms themselves in order to preserve as much budget as possible for the new build reception. Q. Highlighting any unusual aspects, what was the brief provided to you?

The clients were referred to us initially to assist with an urban-design response to the unique planning issue of building within the front setback, and to utilise our skills in obtaining difficult planning permits and grant writing. We were then appointed to complete the design and documentation stages and to assist with any queries on an as-needs basis during construction, in order to keep costs as low as possible.

Q. When did the project begin and when was it completed? What factors affected the timeframe?

The project began with an incredibly contracted timeframe for conceptual design and grant application in December 2012. The grant was successful by April 2013 and a Planning Submission was granted by September later that year. Work started on site by December and construction works were finished by May 2014, an 18month timeframe fro the glimmer of hope that was the grant application to the finished product.

Q. Describe your design

The tower motel is a contemporary tri-partite design. A white cube-shaped building form with a glazed side feature wall is aligned to the street. The cube form is anchored to the ground with a large feature window and canopy over. The glazed wall defines the corner and appears to float over a stone-clad base which forms the entry steps from street level. Finally a timber pergola slides over both forms, defining the entry path into the building at ground level and sailing over to provide some shelter at roof level. Vines will grow along the pergola to highlight a connection to the broader regions’ viticultural origins and to connect the building with the amazing surrounding landscape.

Q. How does the design respond to the urban design framework?

By aligning with the streetscape frontage, having the large feature glazed window seat to activate the front window and a large balcony area with a half-glass balustrade to activate the roof deck , the design clearly responds to the Urban Design Framework and local planning policy. By using the pergola to help define pedestrian zones, and to ameliorate the overly strong motel existing roof form and frame the new design with three simple gestures of box, glazed wall and pergola , also aligns with policy. The side deck helps activate views to and from the side setback and allows for a small landscaped area.

Q. What is/was unique or interesting about the site of the project?

The site was particularly loaded with emotional and cultural meaning due to its location in the heart of the firestorm that was the destruction of Marysville in 2009, the Black Saturday Bushfires. Marysville was burnt to the ground and many people lost their lives; virtually the only thing standing was the Tower Motel. The desire and community momentum to rebuild was strong, and although the Tower Motel played a critical role in the recovery of the town it was in danger of being swept aside in extremely well funded and high profile developments immediately adjacent to it. It needed to reinvent itself in order to survive. This is where we came in, securing funding for a new-build motel shopfront and bar built to the street boundary within the front setback.