LOCAL HERO
The Western Australian landscape blends with local art and heritage buildings at Perth’s new world-class luxury hotel
Curated spaces express a bespoke approach to luxury in Perth’s newest five-star hotel, the InterContinental Perth City Centre. Led by architecture practice Woods Bagot in collaboration with interiors firm Chada, the design draws from the Western Australian landscape and shares the intimate dialogues of leading local artists to evoke a sense of place and meaning. The 240-room hotel is a redesign of what was once a 1970s office block, and later, the Rydges Hotel. It sits within the footprint of the original building, yet reaches into the streetscape through a goldpleated ribbon box. Beneath the facade, new tapas bar Heno & Rey and Spanish grill Ascua spill onto the footpath, and a hole-in-the-wall cafe, Graffiti, is framed by street art; above, the terrace overlooks His Majesty’s Theatre and the lineup of boutiques — Chanel, Gucci, Prada, Louis Vuitton and Tiffany and Co. — on King Street. The hotel not only signals the second five-star experience in Perth but the activation of the city’s luxury, heritage precinct. “We distilled the best of InterContinental’s brand and infused this with inspiration from the Western Australian landscape, the hotel location and the history of the building,” says Woods Bagot associate principal Eva Sue. “We’ve commissioned local artists and a careful selection of materials speak of the beach, bush and minerals of WA.” Woods Bagot and Linton & Kay Galleries worked closely with artists on signature pieces that would define the hotel, such as the suspended sculpture of 76 hand-blown glass leaves, called Forrest Drift — a collaboration between Sue and glass artisan Gerry Reilly. “Forrest Drift was conceptualised as part of the holistic hotel entry experience. Organic, weightless and playful, the piece depicts the changing seasons and fluidity of the landscape,” Sue explains. This level of detail extends into the Gallery meeting and function centre and the Club InterContinental, designed in collaboration with Singapore-based studio EDG. Both areas reference a global traveller’s living room, with a large selection of books, objects and art. “From the carefully curated art collection to the display of international literature, each space offers a strong sense of place and new experience for guests and visitors to Perth,” says Sue.