Project Team

design: Lexis Design

57 Hotel is located at Foveaux Street in Surry Hills – the art, design, fashion and culinary hub of Sydney. The close proximity to the CBD and the central train station makes it a most favourable as well as convenient boutique hotel location for visitors to the city. It was imperative, as a result, that even the design of the hotel further enhanced its distinct prominence.

The original building was a rather plain commercial establishment built during the 1970s, situated adjacent to heritage structures right opposite a Conservation Area.

Lexis Design was commissioned the challenging task of converting the inconspicuous 1970s commercial building into a modern chic boutique hotel that would not only fit into the site’s heritage context, but also enhance the building’s relationship with the public domain. The existing building featured an unsightly car parking at the lower and upper ground levels. The transformation of this space into a grand feature lobby and lounge area for the hotel demanded utmost design expertise from the Lexis Design team headed by its director Lexie Vatavalis. Another crucial aspect of the design brief comprised of an upgrade of the front facade of the elevation to Foveaux Street at Ground level that would serve the dual purpose of improving the streetscape and lending the hotel its unique identity.

The basic idea behind the concept for 57 Hotel was to turn the disadvantage of one aspect of the 1970s in the form of the original building, into the design’s biggest strength using another celebrated aspect of the same decade. Lexis Design transformed the original 70s building into a luxurious and glamorous hotel taking inspiration from the futuristic tinsel-town sets of the 1970s Hollywood movies especially the ones from the James Bond series.

It was decided prudent to retain the facade of the original building on the upper levels and to concentrate instead on giving a much needed facelift to the ground level street front. New glazing at the street level provides not only a window from the lounge to the view outside, but also functions as the showcase to the sleek luxury of the lounge within, to the viewer from outside. Bronze-metallic small formatted tiles clad to the remainder of the street front add to the overall grandeur of the “first-impression” experience of the hotel.

Stepping indoors, the original double-height loading dock provided ideal height for a sculptural curved golden ceiling that added interest and drama to the entry. The curves of the ceiling also help reflect a comfortable fluidity in the direction of movement through the entrance, drawing guests in towards the reception and on to a grand experience of the lobby lounge. The use of bold motifs and metallic surfaces rendered the interiors their intended sleek sophistication.

The big idea was to turn a disadvantage in the form of the original building of the 1970s, into the design’s biggest strength using another celebrated aspect of the same decade. Lexis Design transformed the building into a glamorous hotel inspired from futuristic sets of the 1970s movies especially the James Bond series.

It was decided prudent to retain the original building facade on upper levels and to concentrate instead on a much needed facelift to the ground level street front. A new glazing at the street level provides not only a window from the lounge to the view outside, but also functions as the showcase to the sleek luxury of the lounge within, to the viewer from outside. Bronze-metallic small formatted tiles clad to the remainder of the street front add to the overall grandeur of the “first-impression” experience of the hotel.

Stepping indoors, the original double-height loading dock provided ideal height for a sculptural curved golden ceiling that added interest and drama to the entry. The curves of the ceiling also help reflect a comfortable fluidity in the direction of movement through the entrance, drawing guests in towards the reception and on to a grand experience of the lobby lounge. The use of bold motifs and metallic surfaces rendered the interiors their intended sleek sophistication.