Skills Tasmania Office Relocation – Interia Design & Architecture
Project summary
This project involved the relocation of the head office of Tasmania’s training authority, Skills Tasmania, and the adaptive reuse of part of the heritage-listed Hobart Technical College, now known as 26 Bathurst Street. Once comprising an education facility, the buildings are now a mixture of teaching space and corporate office space for those responsible for developing strategies and providing support for the delivery of trade-based training within Tasmania. With a very tight budget, this project called for the reuse of many existing building elements, as well as all existing furniture belonging to the organisation. This approach greatly influenced the design program. To illustrate the link between the original use of the buildings and the new occupants, the design solution references the main industries of Tasmania during the time of the College’s construction (1930s to 1950s), through details, materials and colour. These industries included fishing, timber, carpentry, furniture, textiles, ceramics, tourism and fruit.
Construction
Cunic Constructions – builder
Consultants
Gandy and Roberts – structural consultant
ECOS – electrical consultant
Ian Loney – mechanical consultant
Gandy and Roberts – hydraulic consultant
Vipac – acoustic consultant
Stehel Consultants – cost consultant
SWT Blythe – original architect
Jonathan Wherrett – photographer
Hobart Building Surveyors – building surveyor