State Buildings Perth brought back to life
How do you deliver the highest standards of quality on a complex heritage project? Build a culture in which everyone treats the building like their own home, says FJM Property’s Kyle Jeavons.
The $100 million restoration of Western Australia’s State Buildings Perth beat seven other national finalists to take home the S4B Studio Award for Best Heritage Development at the recent 2017 Property Council of Australia / Rider Levett Bucknall Innovation and Excellence Awards.
With a history spanning more than 140 years, the three interconnected buildings had been vacant for nearly two decades before they were purchased by FJM Property.
With the help of construction company Built, the site was transformed into a vibrant hospitality and retail precinct, and the home of luxury 48-suite hotel COMO: The Treasury.
Property council chief executive Ken Morrison says the most ambitious adaptive-reuse project in WA has “delivered an influx of tourist dollars, and has become a new destination on the tourist and foodie trail”.
The buildings, which opened in 1874, are entwined with the history of Perth. Over the years, they served as the post office, treasury, public offices, and office of the Premier and Cabinet, as well as a police cell block.
More than 800,000 hours of labour were required during the construction phase, and Jeavons, FJM Property’s development director, applauds the “3,000 plus team that worked on the project to deliver this amazing outcome for our city”.
“It really took a collective effort of attention to detail and care to deliver a project of this complexity and quality,” he says.
The painstaking restoration included reinstatement of plaster ceilings, external balconies and the slate and copper roof. Decorative lacework was meticulously recreated from historical photographs.
Jeavons says the most daunting aspect of the project was facing the “unknown issues that old buildings bring”.
FJM Property tackled this by developing a culture of readiness and problem solving. And when problems occurred “we worked as hard as we could to resolve them, as quickly as we could”.
“Old buildings are fraught with ongoing issues, and it is about how you adapt and problem-solve to keep moving in a positive direction,” he says.
A staggering 95 per cent of the original buildings were retained. The only new component of the development is fourth-floor Wildflower restaurant, which Jeavons says was an “engineering feat”. The rooftop restaurant was created using pre-fabricated modular construction. Modules were manufactured offsite and craned into position over a weekend.
“The risks associated with our approach were high, and it was delivered with precision, and has created, certainly in our view, Perth’s finest restaurant space,” Jeavons says.
The result is a luminous glass box which not only blends seamlessly with the heritage aspect of the building, but showcases it.
If there’s one thing the industry can learn from FJM Property’s approach, it’s “creating a team culture of treating the buildings like your own home”, Jeavons explains.
Heritage buildings “need to be respected for the inherent fabric and stories they add to a city. To see people in the buildings in their final product is an amazing thrill and rewards the many people who did their bit for the buildings.”