In the study/sitting area adjacent to the main bedroom, for example, subway wall tiles from the 1930s, remain. In other areas, there are crevices or channels in the chunky brick walls as a reminder of where more flimsy walls were later added.
Kosloff and Bullock also took their design cues from the restrained Spanish Mission architecture.Credit:Derek Swalwell
“It was literally a shell,” says Kosloff, who replaced some of the damaged ceilings with timber lining boards and the floors with stained oak parquetry.
As there wasn’t a kitchen or even a bathroom, these components are clearly contemporary.
The kitchen features a fluted timber island bench, dark-painted MDF joinery and green-tinted Cararra marble for the splashback and benches.
Kosloff and Bullock also took their design cues from the restrained Spanish Mission architecture, including adding a few arches and the colour scheme that was popular in the 1930s, soft hues of powdery pink.
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“We really started with a blank canvas, but we were keen to respect the past,” says Kosloff, who consulted with heritage architect Bryce Raworth from the project’s inception.
Some of the original wall plaster detailing remains, as well as many of what the couple refer to as the ‘scars’, or reminders, of the past.
The reworking of this space isn’t typical of the work emanating from Kosloff Architecture’s studio, which are considerably larger projects and, in many cases, new builds.
“This one was quite challenging as we had to be continually on site as new discoveries were found.
Unlike most of our projects, it evolved rather than starting out on the drawing board,” says Bullock, who enjoys the spaces, as well as the open plan bathroom that forms part of the main bedroom.
“It does have a certain feel of a luxury hotel room, in a sense rekindling the building’s original use,” she adds.
And although the apartment is at ground level and on a prominent thoroughfare, the 1.5-metre-high windowsills allow for privacy from passing traffic.
Although the Gatwick is no longer a private hotel, the couple have the benefit of accessing their apartment from the original lobby, with the other residents accessing their apartments from Loch Street.
“It certainly still feels like we’re walking into a house, but without the maintenance,” adds Kosloff.