Fairlie Wellness Centre by Wood Marsh

On the bottom degree of Fairlie, considered one of Melbourne’s earliest and most architecturally important high-rise residential buildings, Wooden Marsh has reworked a long-neglected caretaker’s condo right into a refined wellness centre.

Accomplished in 1961 by Yuncken Freeman Brothers, Griffiths & Simpson, Fairlie is well known for its modernist readability, from its prefabricated concrete body to its distinctive arched pilotis. Working inside a heritage-listed icon required a measured strategy. As challenge lead Marco Zerbi explains, “The heritage itemizing set clear parameters round what could possibly be retained and the way new work could possibly be launched,” with each transfer “developed via a means of cautious testing in opposition to the present material, with an emphasis on minimal disruption and clear differentiation between authentic and new work.”

The brand new program emerged straight from resident wants. “The house had sat vacant for a few years and had fallen into important disrepair,” Zerbi says. “Wellness felt like a pure match for the Fairlie constructing.” Slightly than impose a brand new id, the design attracts from the constructing’s inherent qualities – mild, calm and spatial readability – to create a quiet communal retreat.

Wooden Marsh’s guiding philosophy was to rigorously steadiness adaptive reuse with heritage sensitivity. “The preliminary imaginative and prescient was to reactivate the previous caretaker’s condo as a quiet extension of Fairlie’s floor degree,” Zerbi notes. This developed right into a extremely resolved materials language that feels each steady and modern.

Central to it is a bespoke terrazzo, developed to reference the constructing’s authentic surfaces. Described as “elegantly related,” it adopts a honed end to subtly distinguish new from previous, whereas extending seamlessly throughout flooring, joinery and detailing. Pale oak veneer, off-white surfaces and pure brass accents reinforce a restrained, timeless palette.

A central open-plan space helps wellness actions, whereas built-in facilities and a kitchenette keep spatial readability. Above, a brand new skylight introduces pure mild into the deep plan, the results of cautious structural coordination.

All through, the challenge resists distinction in favour of alignment. “The intention was to not replicate the unique structure, however to create one thing carefully aligned in proportion, tone and refinement,” Zerbi says.

Regardless of its modest scale, the intervention demonstrates how considerate, exact design can reinvigorate heritage structure – quietly extending its life whereas enhancing the on a regular basis expertise of its residents.