Cullen Hotel
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The Cullen Hotel
Category: Commercial
Location: Commercial Road, Prahran VIC
Developer/builder: Asian Pacific Building Corporation
Operator: Art Series Hotel Group
Architect: Jackson Clements Burrows & Capitol Commercial Architecture
Structural engineer: Rincovitch & Partners
Bricklayer: EGI Bricklaying
Brick manufacturer: Austral Bricks
Product: Elements Zinc
Project description:
The Cullen Hotel, named after Adam Cullen, Australian art's "bad boy", occupies a high-profile site in the heart of one of Melbourne's premier shopping and entertainment precincts.
This prominence demanded a fresh approach to the facade design and material selection. The design architects chose Austral Bricks Elements Zinc, a semi-glazed brick with a metallic finish that shimmers and sparkles in the ever-changing light. The façade design is best described as "push-pull", the most prominent examples being the balconies, expressed on the western façade and recessed along the Commercial Road frontage.
"A conventional two-dimensional façade wouldn't have the ability to cast shadows on itself," says JCB's project architect, Rob Kennon who also admires the craftsmanship of brick "and the fact that it's literally laid one by one, so there's more of a finer grain to it."
The brickwork sits on shelf angles at each level. Although the building is not tall, the dark brickwork - enhanced by a charcoal-coloured mortar - gives a more monolithic appearance and helps anchor it to the site. The Cullen Hotel was placed on the prestigious Condé Nast Traveller Hot List 2010, the judges describing the building as "cleverly designed" with "visual provocation (awaiting) at every turn."
