Project Team

design: Birrelli art + design + architecture

The ultimate in design winning boutique accommodation, Hatherley Birrell Collection is a collection of art filled properties, featuring a mix of heritage and contemporary architectural and design elements, this unique luxury accommodation offers a highly individual and exceptionally stylish experience.

Hatherley House, an 1830’s grand mansion listed on the National Estate Register, provides two self contained suites, where original magnificence has been retained and juxtaposed with the ultra modern all within the sheer expanse of Hatherley’s english parkland garden as a backdrop. New to the collection are two garden pavilion rooms within the heritage gardens of Hatherley House. The pavilions are innovative in design, contemporary, eco-friendly retreats inspired by chinese lanterns. Art filled and featuring moon windows within origami like roof forms, private outdoor areas complete with your own private outdoor stone bath each set within an exquisite garden setting the garden pavilions will be an experience to remember.

Also in the centre of the inner city Hatherley Birrell Collection offers a modern architectural two bedroom apartment, designed and built in 2010, with full kitchen, laundry, two bathrooms and two private outdoor areas.

The Magnolia Garden Pavilion allows you to open its sliding glass wall and find yourself within the canopy of a 150 year old Magnolia tree. This modern addition to the collection offers a heritage garden experience like no other. Art filled and completely modern with origami inspired roof form, moon window, large contemporary glass bathroom and private deck with outdoor bath carved from volcanic stone.

The Muse Garden Pavilion is art filled and completely modern with origami inspired roof form, moon window, large contemporary glass bathroom and private deck with outdoor bath carved from volcanic stone.

Both garden pavilions are completely private and secure, a modern interpretation of the 18th and 19th Century garden folly.

Traditionally classical follies were small buildings designed to enchant, and with surprise being a central idea of a folly they could be Greek, Egyptian, Gothic, or Chinese. Legends cluster around such buildings and their very names intrigue - the Treacle Eater at Barwich Park, the Needle’s Eye at Wentworth Woodhouse, the Jealous Wall at Belvedere in Westmeath.

The Muse and Magnolia pavilions of Hatherley House Launceston are both chinoiserie inspired and sensitively contemporary in design, appropriate with the setting of an acre and half of private heritage estate gardens.

The designers wanted to create apremium luxury art and design accommodation product that is light filled, modern and filled with contemporary art.

They enlisted specialist arborists, heritage advisors, historians and landscape designers, whilst providing the architectural, interior and graphic design services.

The Global Economic Crisis slowed the execution of the project, as did bureaucratic red tape and heritage objections.

The pavilions extend the architectural legacy of the 1830’s Italianate mansion by referencing the classical concept of the chinoiserie garden folly of the 18th and 19th century. Essentially they were constructed over a carpark area to avoid any disturbance to the gardens. Strategic architectural ‘blinkers’ ensure complete privacy between the pavilions. On approach they are very understated, a corrugated iron box that resembles the surrounding outbuildings – allowing the garden views to unfold slowly upon entering the pavilion.

The exterior cladding of vertical corrugated iron is a direct reference to the materials used in the surrounding historic outbuildings on the site. The white plasterboard interior with seamless edging is inspired by origami.

The designers used a palette of black and white – to present fine art the interiors are gallery white and smooth, juxtaposed with black to create high contrast, an unexpected moody ambience and the graphic boldness of opposites.

The full height sliding glass wall to the tree canopy creates an amazing heritage garden experience, the above bed canon shaped moonwindow to view the Tasmanian southern cross constellation in the clearest air in the world and the outdoor carved volcanic rock baths for moonlight bathing in Tasmania’s temperate climate all create an unforgettable Tasmanian experience.

Lighting details are incorporated into the deck and the bathroom floors and walls, by embedding LED strip lighting into the flooring and tiling. Subtle wall lights that also reference origami shapes that wash up and down the wall. Bedside lamps that are reminiscent of a starry moonlit sky, and to ensure visibility of the stars through the moonwindow we the main ceiling light on the exterior of the pavilion and reflected down through the window. The graphic artwork on the glass bathroom walls is backlit..

The pavilions are a 5 star green rated low energy, low carbon footprint eco-friendly design. They have a feeling of huge volume due to the high ceiling canon roof form. They include private outdoor baths carved from volcanic stone, artfilled with a contemporary collection, bold graphic design elements, 150 year old trees are uplit at night, full wall of glass to the heritage gardens.

The Garden Pavilions provide level access in an 1830’s property without the destruction of the heritage building. They also provide guests with the touch of architecture than spans 180 years all on one site.