VIBE DARLING HARBOUR
SYDNEY
Challenge
WMK took part in a design competition to transform a retail and commercial space on Sussex Street into a 4.5-star Vibe Hotel. The new hotel will feature 145 rooms, a rooftop swimming pool and bar.
Looking for a unique product to offer the market, the client was seeking warm and inviting guest rooms with a modern aesthetic to appeal to seasoned business and leisure travellers as well as millennials. A major component of the brief was to maximise the usage of the site and number of lettable rooms.
Solution
WMK’s competition-winning design brings a chic New York loft aesthetic to Sussex Street. The architectural design reflects its surrounding environment, referencing the shapes and materials of a heritage school and Gothic church opposite while activating the Sussex Street and James Lane streetscapes.
The interiors have been informed by a Manhattan design aesthetic, drawing on the vibrancy of the neighbourhood to create an international feel.
WMK’s rooftop bar and pool design will create a vibrant oasis with superb city and sunset views.
Outcome
When the project is completed, Vibe will have its first new-build hotel right in the heart of Sydney’s CBD and Sussex Street will have an upmarket hotel and food and beverage offering unique to this part of Sydney, helping to reinvigorate the neighbourhood.
The hotel will also help to address a major shortage of accommodation in the city, while the rooftop bar and pool will offer a point of difference with its sensational views to the Darling Harbour Precinct.
Awards
Vibe Hotel Darling Harbour has been shortlisted in the Commercial Architecture category for the 2020 NSW Architecture Awards.
