Holiday Inn
Richmond’s Next Hospitality Commercial Frontier
471 Swan Street, Richmond
In Progress
A new mixed-used building used for commercial and hospitality purposes is set to be developed at 471 Swan Street, Richmond Melbourne. Formerly known as SEN Radio, the building was sold in 2018 and awaits to become another commercial amenity while benefiting the nearby hospitality services around Richmond’s highly occupied street.
Flanked between Stawell and Belgravia Street, the new Holiday Inn will be welcomed in a podium-styled programmed building with eight storeys and two basement carparks below. This revamped develop-ment aims to incorporate the fast-paced rhythm and history of Richmond, with the first two levels dedi-cated to offices and showrooms while the remaining levels are reserved for short stays.
Under the vision of RotheLowman Architects – the new Holiday Inn aims to serve as a new benchmark for future developments within the populous suburb. Language of volume and geometry dominates the architectural design. From afar, the building appears in a familiar façade with patterns of monochro-matic tones of black and white corrugated surfaces – a subtle tie and nod to the surrounding facades of Richmond.
The weight of the relatively top-heavy monolithic structure is balanced with a glass casing that envelops the office showroom levels and the hotel lobby. At the southwest of the building, the corner is metaphorically lifted to reveal an opened plaza park landscaped for biophilic purposes. The lifted corner accompanied by a glass façade reveals an interior made of timber decked ceiling which softens the corner of Stawell and Swan Street.
With a cantilevered green terrace connected to the hotel’s bar, it readily beckons patrons to immerse themselves among the green and silhouetted skyline of the views beyond. A similar sentiment included towards the northern edge of the hotel, with two smaller courtyards being introduced at the hotel’s lob-by, opening lightwells and void for the surrounding hotel rooms – a small gesture of returning the green that scarcely occupies the suburb.