The Prahran Hotel is an iconic bar in Melbourne, Australia that has served locals since the mid 1800’s. The original building is everything that you would expect from a local bar, but the new addition has bought something extraordinary to the design of the interior and the exterior.

The new addition to the hotel consists of 17 oversized concrete pipes that are stacked to meet with the skyline and are a very defining feature of the hotel that have drawn a lot of attention from all over the world. The design aims to simulate stacks of beer kegs as concrete pipes. Each pipe is lined with leather seating and can serve up to 10 people.

Before studying for my degree, I wouldn’t say that I gave much time or thought to architecture that used industrial or brutalist elements. However my views have really changed a vast amount and I really love the design of this space both from exterior architectural design and interior design.

The thing that stands out to me is how the space has been used and made functional. And the way that the architecture influences interior design and the other way around. I was also surprised to find that so many people can fit comfortably into one concrete tube.

The Precedent

I would like to use aspects of this as a precedent for my Urban Room as I would like to turn vertical tubes into functional spaces where a reasonable amount of people can use comfortably.

Additionally; I plan on using some horizontal tubes, but on a much smaller scale. I chose this as a precedent as I would like some of the small tubes to be windows or viewing areas into other parts of the exhibition.