Telephone +61 7 3844 1362
studio@shanethompson.com.au
47 Wahcumba St, Dutton Park
PO Box 1170 Fortitude Valley
Queensland 4006 Australia
The YHA in Byron Bay is partly an existing two-story corner block hostel, partly refurbished with a new relaxed lounge area / multi user kitchen & outdoor dining deck that connects to the new hostel extension works. The new works are made up of 3 Pavilions of 3 storey’s each, sited on a narrow block and neighboured by another backpacker hostel.
Pavilion 1 is a double height Reception, largely open across the ground plane with bi-folding doors, windows and full height glass. A welcoming art work by local artist Robert Moore greats every traveller as a “Welcome to Paradise” statement in the airy double height space. The top level of this pavilion are 2 private guests suites each with private ensuites. Pavilions 2 & 3 are total accommodation with a mixture of ensuited private rooms and multi guest bunk style rooms again each with a private bathroom.
A new link between the existing accommodation and the new accommodation has been formalized through the refurbished outdoor dining deck, located centrally a mist the buildings on level 2, this upper level connection of outdoor verandah’s create new boulevards to meander your way around, catch glimpses and connect with the outdoors, further enhancing the open connection and welcoming nature of the YHA and the nature of Byron Bay at large. Additional guest car parking is accommodated in the new basement, sites under the three new pavilions, with lift access to all three levels.
The formal expression of the three new Pavilions is a gestural node to the beach shacks and holiday homes that have populated the subtropical east coast of Australia from the 1950’s. Skillion & Butterfly roof forms, patchwork express joint FC sheet run in a vertical stretcher bond pattern with a tri-tonal monochrome colour pallet of light yellow breakdown the scale and bring back the understated beach shack feeling. Backpacker’s and travellers from all over the world will pass through these simple forms that mask a tight program of site constraints to deliver an enjoyable and unique stay in Byron Bay.