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Tell us about yourself and your practice.
I studied at QUT where I graduated in 1995 with a Bachelor of Architecture and Bachelor of Built Environment. My first job was with a small practice in Manly working on small to medium residential projects. I then moved to a medium sized firm that specialises in hospitality work; that was where I gained my experience in this area. In 1998 I joined KP Architects, initially as an associate later becoming a director. The firm started out mainly working on residential projects but soon established itself as a specialist in the hospitality field securing major clients such as CUB, MGW Hotels and The Coffee Club.
What was your brief for the Breakfast Creek job?
The client initially gave us 2 briefs; the first was their interpretation of what they believed needed to happen to the Brekky Creek and the second was "no brief" and was left up to us to establish what we believed was needed. We were given a lot of focus group information which assisted in understanding what the patrons wanted. We also spent a lot of time at the hotel discovering it's needs first hand. Some of the main points of the brief were: to provide a venue that all walks of life could feel comfortable in; be conscious of the cultural and architectural history of the hotel; address the reorientation of the hotel caused by the Inner City Bypass; utilise the area of the disused SEQEB substation and improve efficiencies in operation.
I'm a regular there. I love it.
We love it too. We regularly go for a drink or take clients for a steak. Our clients are also ecstatic about it, it has well exceeded their expectations.
Why did you decide to use the bifold doors throughout that sub-station?
We considered a few options for the large openings. We looked at bifold doors, stacking sliding doors and fold-up glazed shutters. In the end the bifold doors were a lot more versatile and easier to use. The bifold doors allowed us to have a large opening that could be closed off for weather protection or functions but could still be simply operated like a normal swing door. The bifold doors allow an easy transition between inside and out for both staff and patrons and when they are fully opened are quite unobtrusive. We really wanted to maximise the verticality of the internal space in the substation and the tall bifold doors and fixed glazing panels above allowed us to do this.
What do you think about the functionality of the E2 hardware used on the bifold doors?
They seem to be very functional, and allow the line between the interior and exterior to be blurred when they are open. Even closed the large glazed panels still provide a connection to the outside.
What sort of versatility do you think a product like this has?
The versatility lies in the ability to be used from smaller scale domestic doors to large commercial doors like at the Brekky Creek and can be used for both timber and aluminium framed doors. We have also recently used the E2 on some timber bifold doors for a duplex we designed at West End and they work perfectly.
Would you specify them again?
Definitely, we've found that the Centor range of products is probably second to none at the moment. In some instances we have merely specified bifold doors; fortunately the subcontractors and suppliers also recognise the quality of the Centor products and we have found that we end up with the Centor system. Based on past performance we will certainly be nominating the E2 system for all bifold doors that we specify in future and we will insist that they are not substituted.
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