Melville Street Office

Overview
Through adaptation and re-use this project found new purpose for a tired yet promising industrial structure.

27-29 Melville Street was originally constructed in the earliest years of the 20th century serving as garage, workshops, animal feed storage and, from the late 1960’s to 2018, as the locally renowned automotive crash repair workshop Pauls Bodyworks.

In 2019 the structure underwent extensive renovation creating a contemporary architectural office environment designed to enhance the working life and well-being of employees and facilitate workplace cohesion and collaboration.

Scraping back decades of wall paint, consolidated automotive sanding dust and overspray unlocked stories of the building’s layered past including the revelation of historic painted façade signage, internal graffiti and the buildings stone, brick and elegant timber structure. In doing so, a foundation was established against which new architectural interventions could be placed, creating an informed exchange between the old and new chapters in the building’s history.

Year Completed
2019


Photography
Rob Maver + Nina Hamilton


Key Collaborators
Builder | Paragon Constructions
ESD Consultant | RED Sustainability Consultants
Building Surveyor | Lee Tyers Building Surveyors
Structural and Hydraulic Engineering | Aldanmark Consulting Engineers
Electrical & Fire Engineer | Christopher Crack
Services Consultant | Peter Ribbon Building Services
Environmental Assessor | Geo-Environmental Solutions