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Troppo Architects lodge plans for Adelaide CBD's first eco-hotel in Whitmore Square

Tim Williams City Editor •
City Messenger •
November 11, 2013 8:18PM







THE Adelaide CBD's first eco-hotel would resemble the fur skin cloak of a revered Kaurna ancestor.

Troppo Architects will lodge plans this week for the nine-storey Hotel Ivaritji, which is designed to honour both the Aboriginal and settler heritage of the area around Whitmore Square.

The irregular-shaped cladding on the hotel's western facade would emulate the cloak in which Ivaritji, known as the last fluent Kaurna speaker of her era when authorities discouraged the language, was photographed in 1928.

Ivaritji is the official Kaurna name of the square, meaning "a gentle, misty rain", and would be used for the hotel pending Kaurna permission.

The $11 million project, next to the Whitmore Hotel, would be split into two towers. A cafe at the base would double as a check-in desk for the 23 suites.

It would be built with lightweight, heat-resistant materials, and be largely prefabricated off site to save construction time. There would be no airconditioning apart from an evaporative system in the cafe to save power.

An array of solar panels, green walls and an "edible" rooftop garden would be among the other environmental features of the hotel, which would be a stone's throw from the city's flagship Christie Walk eco-housing estate.

Troppo Architects already has a connection to the square, having designed the affordable housing project at its southern end and operated its highly successful Cafe Troppo .

Director Phil Harris said he would form a co-operative with friends to build, own and run the hotel.

"The square should be thought of as the heart of the southwest. It needs to have active edges," he said.

"There really hasn't been much commerce around the square for a long time. It would be nice to bring some back."

A rooftop function space would be planted with citrus and olives, reflecting the Mediterranean heritage of the migrants who populated the city's southwest, while art shows would be held in the cellar.

The fitout of the suites would feature recycled materials and possibly an Aboriginal art theme.

Mr Harris wants the slip roads at the northwest corner of the square reconfigured and Bartels St closed to traffic to create an outdoor plaza and dining area.

The development would also include a three-storey building facing the square for a business with a "shop top" apartment, and two townhouses behind the hotel.

Plans will be lodged with the Development Assessment Commission on Wednesday.

A potential snag is the local heritage listing of two 1895 villas occupied by Radio Italiana that would have to be demolished.

Mr Harris said two heritage assessments, including one commissioned by Troppo, concluded they had no heritage value.

South West City Residents Association president Julie Jordan said the hotel plans were "very impressive" but some locals would have concerns about the nine-storey height.

Will wrote:From the Advertiser:

South West City Residents Association president Julie Jordan said the hotel plans were "very impressive" but some locals would have concerns about the nine-storey height.

phenom wrote:"CitiFringe" taking shape (on South Terrace)

The attachment CitiFringe.jpg is no longer available

Sandy and Anne are back for 2014, unfortunatly same old attitude.

Adelaide City councillors warn against crushing buildings to allow for nine-storey eco Hotel Ivaritji

From: City Messenger

January 06, 2014

THE razing of two heritage buildings to make way for Adelaide's first eco-hotel on Whitmore Square would open the floodgates for a rash of demolitions, Adelaide City councillors say.

The $11 million, nine-storey Hotel Ivaritji, which would be clad to resemble the fur skin coat of the revered Kaurna ancestor , would require the demolition of two locally-listed former Wright St houses now used as offices.

A report by the council's heritage architect said both late-1800s buildings had been "seriously compromised by past alterations" even when they were listed in 1988, so they were only of "potential" heritage value if significantly reconstructed.

But led by Cr Sandy Wilkinson, councillors voted to oppose their demolition.

"It's an incredibly dangerous potential case for support (of demolition) of dwellings that are locally heritage listed on the basis they have been cosmetically altered," Cr Wilkinson said.

Cr Anne Moran said despite Troppo Architects' "golden-hearted attempt at something funky in the city" with the eco-hotel, the demolitions would set a precedent that could "completely decimate the southwest in particular".

"We have a generous heritage (restoration) fund that should be used in this case," Cr Moran said.

The Development Assessment Commission will this month assess the eco-hotel proposal - to feature heat-resistant materials, solar panels, green walls, an "edible" rooftop garden and no airconditioning in its suites - because it is valued at more than $10 million.

The council has the right to comment as the neighbouring landowner of the square, despite the State Government stripping it of the general right to advise on high value projects late last year.

Troppo Architects director Phil Harris, who would form a co-operative with friends to build and run the hotel, has commissioned a separate heritage study which also found the buildings were of no heritage value.

The planned hotel would be clad to resemble the fur skin cloak of a revered Kaurna ancestor. Picture provided by the South Australian Museum.
"These are duds, very late-ish Victorian villas," he said.

"They are out of place - they're suburban, with the good bits removed in '60s modernisation, and by now overgrown to all boundaries with additions."

In 2012, the State Government made demolition of hundreds of local heritage places across much of the CBD easier by having applications assessed against criteria in the city's Development Plan and allowing appeals from owners.

Planning authorities previously could refuse to assess bids for demolition.

Ivaritji - now Iparrityi under recently revised Kaurna spelling - is known as the last fluent Kaurna speaker of her era and was photographed in a fur skin cloak in 1928