Muwinina People
Tasmania
The Black Swan is a heritage-listed building located on a prominent corner at the edge of the city, addressing a busy urban intersection. Originally constructed as a hotel, the building was destroyed by fire in 1835 and subsequently altered many times, resulting in the loss of original fabric and clarity. Prior to intervention, the building was in a near-derelict condition, with severe internal deterioration including missing floors, removed ceilings and windows, and incomplete circulation.
The project is underpinned by a philosophy of careful regeneration, prioritising repair, revelation and restraint. Rather than reconstructing a singular historical moment, the design embraces the layered history of the building, clearly distinguishing between old and new while allowing the original Georgian structure to re-emerge as the primary architectural presence. A series of modest, precise interventions stabilise the building, reinstate its legibility, increase its commercial viability to support contemporary use.
The Colin Philp Award for Commercial Architecture
The Black Swan is a modern tale of three brothers, an architect and two builders, who revive a long-lost Hobart corner. Originally a colonial public house, the building was destroyed by fire in 1835 and eroded by a century of unsympathetic ‘altercations’.
Black Swan advances adaptive reuse through a unified design approach, resolving a complex program while navigating heritage constraints and building compliance, all within a typically modest Tasmanian budget.
The architecture is precise and refined against backdrops of raw and often ragged material histories. A plinth of vertically laid reclaimed brick anchors light black steel window frames above. Reflective double glazing conceals the building by day and reveals its secrets by night. A double-height corner atrium opens generously, then guides visitors back into the colonial interiors, drawing them into the deeper, darker history of the old public house. Original re-pointed fireplaces and timber detailing reinforce this continuity.
Within the apartment, timber stairs, sagging with the weight of time, bend over a powder-coated, earthy steel substructure, while matching steel elements merge into red, dusted-brick walls.
It is both authentic and appropriate.
The Colin Philp Award recognises Black Swan as a model for the renewal of Tasmania’s commercial architectural heritage.
The Colin Philp Award for Commercial Architecture
The Black Swan is a modern tale of three brothers, an architect and two builders, who revive a long-lost Hobart corner. Originally a colonial public house, the building was destroyed by fire in 1835 and eroded by a century of unsympathetic ‘altercations’.
Black Swan advances adaptive reuse through a unified design approach, resolving a complex program while navigating heritage constraints and building compliance, all within a typically modest Tasmanian budget.
The architecture is precise and refined against backdrops of raw and often ragged material histories. A plinth of vertically laid reclaimed brick anchors light black steel window frames above. Reflective double glazing conceals the building by day and reveals its secrets by night. A double-height corner atrium opens generously, then guides visitors back into the colonial interiors, drawing them into the deeper, darker history of the old public house. Original re-pointed fireplaces and timber detailing reinforce this continuity.
Within the apartment, timber stairs, sagging with the weight of time, bend over a powder-coated, earthy steel substructure, while matching steel elements merge into red, dusted-brick walls.
It is both authentic and appropriate.
The Colin Philp Award recognises Black Swan as a model for the renewal of Tasmania’s commercial architectural heritage.
Owner was a partnership between the architect and builder
Daniel Lane, Design Architect
Nathan Moate, Graduate of Architecture
Sara Chugg, Design Architect
Paul Newman, Consultant
Holdfast Consulting, Building Surveyor
Gandy and Roberts, Structural Engineer
Ceeds Property Group, Hydraulic Consultant
Ian Loney, Services Consultant