By Cumulus
Originally built as a flour mill on the crossing of the North and South Esk Rivers, the Stillwater Seven site holds almost 200 years of Tasmanian history.
Playing host to a range of industrial, commercial and artistic ventures, this latest business enterprise builds on the established presence of an award-winning restaurant, Stillwater, which has called the historic site home since 2000.
The Stillwater Seven project involved the adaptive reuse of the mill’s upper floors – from gallery and providore to seven luxury suites. As the survivor of a major fire and almost two centuries of wild elements, the concept of ‘regeneration’ led the design process, grounded by a sensitive approach to the original building fabric.
Surviving elements such as exposed corrugated iron and giant Oregon trusses were expressed throughout the redefined interior. Flickers of the site’s past continue from the retained elements to the new, with a rich interior palette of raw timbers, deep colour and tactile finishes.
Consistent with the local, seasonal focus of the restaurant below, the strength of Tasmanian products and designers is celebrated within the new accommodation offering. Guests will find custom made A.H Beard beds as well as bespoke furniture designed and made by Simon Ancher at his nearby Launceston studio.
The experience finishes with bright, immersive bathroom spaces that surprise guests with pinks, greens, elevated ceilings and playful lighting.
LocationLaunceston, Tasmania
ClientStillwater
Year2019
StatusComplete
Photography: Anjie Blair
Cumulus is an award-winning architecture and interior design studio with offices in Hobart, Launceston, Melbourne, Adelaide, and Sydney. The offices operate as one combined studio, providing flexibility in the size and scope of work undertaken and ensuring a cohesive and collaborative approach to all projects.
The studio consists of more than 40 team members, including 17 registered architects with specialities in tourism, residential, commercial, heritage, urban design and interior architecture.
Cumulus also regularly collaborates with a number of external specialist consultants from across Australia for the coordination of a broader range of services from feasibility studies and brand management to contract administration and post-occupancy evaluation.
Cumulus respectfully acknowledges the First Peoples of Australia, their Elders past, present and emerging, who were and are the keepers of their cultural and spiritual knowledge and traditions, and the traditional owners of the land on which we live and work.