WARDERS HOTEL

The Warders’ Block W1 was built in 1851 in the Victorian Georgian style as the first of three rows of terrace houses designed to house the Warders serving at the Fremantle Prison and their families. The Warders cottages represent places of significant cultural heritage and are registered on the National Heritage List. They are associated with the development of the Convict Establishment, a precint that links the Fremantle Prison, the Cottages and the Fremantle Court house and Police Station.

The challenge facing any adaptive re-use of such sensitive heritage is to ensure that not only does the fabric get retained but that the essense of the building is not lost. We approached the development of the hotel with this in mind and wanted to create an immersive heritage experience where patrons are well aware that they have just entered into a building from 1851. Modern elements required to make the stay luxurious have been added but do not swamp or hide the historic fabric. Built in beds offer a serviced hub to keep the walls free, electrical conduits are housed in surface mounted copper conduits, lighting is soft and located as task lights on walls rather than overhead to emulate candle-light, and all of the original doors and windows have been maintained.  

In all 11 suites have been created, 6 on the upper floor and 5 on the lower floor. The remaining ground floor rooms have been used to house the hotel reception and a small aperitivo bar, the Gimlet, named after the cocktail of gin and lemon or lime created to ensure English navel officers consistently received their vitamin C ration.

The internal staircases were not code compliant so have been sealed up and a secondary vertical circulation system developed to the rear of the cottages to access the upper floor suites. The void created over the internal stairs is used as a services riser to allow for the concealed distribution of water, electrical, data and mechanical systems.

Custom furniture pieces by MCA - Master bed headboard, Fold out bunk beds, Reception desk.

Furniture: Mobilia

Branding: Studiofield

Photos by Dion Robeson & Studiofield & MCA

Awards:

2021 WA Architecture Awards: Ross Chisholm and Gil Nicol Award for Commercial Architecture

2021 WA Architecture Awards: Award for Heritage Architecture

2021 WA Architecture Awards: WA Lighting Award

2021 State heritage commendation - conservation or adaptive reuse of a state registered place