The clients concept for the Alex hotel was for an 'independent traveller' hotel - specific to its site and location, as distinct from a global chain. The emphasis is on the experience - of the place and of a particular kind of hospitality that sets it apart from other hotels.

Architecturally this was interpreted into a site specific building that, due to its L-shape footprint has two addresses; James St. is the hotel entrance and has a small cafe, making the lobby accessible to people other than hotel guest, while on William St. the heritage bank facade is now the entrance to the restaurant, 'Shadow Wine Bar', there is also a 'lane way' entry along the side boundary, all of which create opportunities for different contextual responses.

The material choices are informed by cost effective construction techniques - such as pre-cast concrete panels used for the external cladding. They chose to manipulate the pre-cast panels to create modulation and relief to the building scale rather than a sheer flat box. The ground floor lobby and mezzanine spaces are wrapped in a deep, two storey, timber and steel window which responds to the pedestrian scale at the street level, while a curtain of perforated, folded, bronze anodised aluminium, shrouds the upper level of the William St. elevation and helps 'blur' the mass of the 7 storey building. Internally, the finishes are deliberately kept as raw as possible with exposed pipework and off-form concrete soffits. In contrast, the interior styling and furniture by Arent&Pyke is eclectic, fun, quirky and provides many ways to inhabit the hotel living areas. 

The hotel owners want to welcome guests to 'make themselves at home' during their stay. The design of the 74 room hotel encourages people to inhabit the communal areas rather than hide away in their hotel room, so it was very important that the design of these spaces - the lobby, mezzanine and outdoor terraces, convey a welcoming and comfortable environment, to do this they looked at removing some of the traditional barriers between the staff and the guests - so that they are on the same side of the 'counter' when checking in, or standing next to the person making the coffee in the lobby cafe or using the communal kitchen to help yourself to a drink on the mezzanine.

The guest rooms are deliberately kept quite compact in contrast to the sense of space in the communal areas. The roof terrace has a bookable meeting room, and a roof garden with fabulous views of the neighbourhood and the city.