There are few places where it’s possible to look down on helicopters, but the top of Melbourne’s Eureka Tower is one. ‘You’re watching people fly in for the Australian Open, landing on the Yarra River,’ says Travis Walton. ‘It’s surreal.’
His architecture and interior-design studio was tasked with updating an apartment that takes up a quarter of the 76th floor in this building, which was the tallest in the city for a long time. Known for his hospitality work, he draws on those same skills for residential projects – an approach that was just right for this brief, where the owners wanted to feel like they were ‘on holiday’ in their own city.
‘We treated the apartment as if it were a private residence in a hotel,’ he says. ‘It creates theatre.’ The original internal architecture was very well built but, adds Travis, ‘fast forward 25 years and it had started to feel tired’. He took it back to the bare shell and rethought the plan. ‘By opening the spaces up, natural light now flows into every corner.’
The internal wall to the third bedroom was removed and replaced with Glas Italia sliding doors. It adds to the bright, airy feel of this home and, furnished with an elegant Flexform ‘Eden’ sofa bed, doubles as a sunny snug. The shower, meanwhile, has been daringly relocated to the window where it commands a spectacular view. ‘It’s a moment in the apartment that feels quite special,’ says Travis.
It was because this home isn’t the family’s main residence that Travis could take a more adventurous approach to the layout and the materials palette, which is seriously luxurious. At this elevation, inspiration comes from the colours and rhythm of the city below, rather than what’s outside the back door. ‘The views are so broad,’ he says. ‘It was all about focusing on that panorama, capturing it and detailing out any elements that tied us to the building.’
‘The clients absolutely love it,’ says Travis, of the owners’ response to their renewed pad, adding: ‘They’ve gained so much more functionality from the apartment while still preserving the character of the building.’ He feels honoured to have been given the opportunity to rethink part of this iconic tower, celebrating its architecture and angular form through a contemporary lens.
‘Materials that wear in and patina are a thread in our work,’ he observes, satisfied that the finishes he has chosen will serve the apartment well in its next chapter. ‘It’s timeless; it’s going to stand the test of time.’ traviswalton.com.au
