29 December 2024

The new refurb of 120 Collins Street by @hassell_studio includes a new glass entrance, which is nicer than the stripey lumpy grey it was before, but I think that sharp roof introduces a discordant note on Collins Street. And it wasn’t necessarily a good idea to reveal side wall that was never meant to be seen. But it is admittedly hard to create something that would fit perfectly, right next to the robust 1867 polychrome brickwork of St Michael’s. There was another even blockier entrance, now a shop, a much better idea. Before pics are streetview, 2019. Inside, they’ve opened out the space behind the 1908 Professional Chambers frontage, making a feature of it, rather than half hidden like before (pic 6 is 2015). And of course there’s a cafe. They’ve left the original 1991 strident polished granite cladding to the lift core though, which I quite like. That and the tower are by Daryl Jackson, not his best work.

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