Half a century after Fred Piesse built the Premier Flour Mill, he repurposed its beating-basement-heart of cogs, pulleys and drives to house his ever expanding wine, aerated waters and cordials business. This was the first such repurposing, but not the last.
Fast forward to 2016 and the Mill building was unfortunately in a state of complete disrepair. Together with a like-minded team, it was then that we embarked upon what turned out to be the Mill’s most significant and consuming repurposing.
“Briefed to resurrect and transform an important remnant of Katanning’s agricultural/industrial past, and to position it as a hotel that celebrates and advances tourism in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, Spaceagency Architects has redefined the meaning of a heritage project. The historic hardware (machines, belts, cables, shafts and conveyors) of the flour mill remain in situ, with the hotel rooms, corridors, circulation areas and stairs inserted into the mill’s carcass in such a way as to retain an appreciation of the building’s original purpose. This is a master achievement, born of intelligence and attention”.
JURY CITATION, 2019 NATIONAL ARCHITECTURE AWARDS
Details of the full team of curators and collaborators:
“The Premier Mill Hotel is a celebration of the rich fabric of the existing building. Formerly a flourmill it was an ingenious industrial invention of its time. It had become obsolete and the building slipped into disrepair; a similar fate suffered by many handsome heritage buildings of the wheat belt towns dating back to the prosperous gold rush era. In response to our client’s bold vision for tourism in the region we embraced the challenge of re-imaging the mill as a 22-room hotel including lobby, common areas, a café and basement bar retaining, exposing and expressing the industrial texture throughout. The result is a magical story of the building’s past, present and future made of layers of times past and times to come, it offers a new vision of the region for locals and visitors alike.”
Michael Patroni, Architect, spaceagency
To read the full Jury Citation, or find out more about the Mill's Restoration:
For generations of mill workers, a sharp blast of the whistle marked the beginning and end to their working day, and every ‘smoko’ and lunch in between. The sound carried far and both townsfolk and d...
"I had read an article on it some time prior and was really struck by the unique transformation taking place. When it was completed and I saw photos of the Hotel I was incredibly impressed by how the ...
During our ambient sit down and after-dinner-wine in the reception area we conversed with a fellow tourist and his wife in front of the fire. It was obvious from the conversation that the male in part...
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