Candalepas Associates have won in two categories at this year’s National Architecture Awards.
National Award for Commercial Architecture:
The Porter House Hotel in New South Wales by Candalepas Associates won the National Award for Commercial Architecture.
This project is two buildings of timeless modernity and heritage in a reciprocal pairing. Together they give a sense of civic permanence. The new and old buildings are a counterpoint to each other in terms of decoration and detail, yet both buildings exhibit a similar level of deliberate craft. To this end, the building, and the project as a whole, invite public viewing of architecture as craft.
National Award for Heritage:
The Porter House Hotel by Candalepas Associates also won the National Award for Heritage.
The building was originally constructed – reportedly by convict settlers – using Sydney sandstone bricks. It was a tobacco factory and later housed a leather factory and furniture manufacturer. This heritage has been given longevity thanks to accomplished interventions to the building.
New interior uses include a restaurant, cocktail bar and hotel guest services featuring interiors that deliberately match the heritage fabric in richness of detail and material.
At the same time, layers of the building’s history are made visible, including displays of uncovered artefacts that reveal its narrative.
