The Old Synagogue

Beer and Wine Garden Fremantle WA Alterations + Additions to Heritage Buildings The design team undertook concept design to develop the architectural intent and overall planning strategy for the precinct, proposing clear identities for each of the spaces. The design intends to showcase the existing structures wherever possible, and ultimately ensure that the scale of any new built form would not compete with the heritage fabric. Establishing a clear distinction in material language between old and new was important and this was something that was thoroughly explored in the use of masonry elements. The precinct consists of four connected yet distinctive food and beverage venues, each characterised by a unique set of spatial conditions and relationships within the existing heritage structures. The basement venue burrowed beneath the old Synagogue is veiled by a wall of timber concealing secret doorways to a speakeasy-style bar. The venue facing South Terrace is highly engaged with the street edge and was intended to overlap day to nighttime activities, maintaining the visual connection through to the synagogue and a unique up-close view of the building as the backdrop to the venue. The restaurant space poses minimal intervention within the Synagogue and the primary focus is on the interior experience as a celebration of the heritage structure. At the rear and fronting Parry street, the largest of the venues is a garden pub that spreads across two levels and utilises the remnants of the partially complete excavation work left by the previous owners. The intention was to maintain the sense that these structures were leftover and overrun by the landscape, dripping through the voids that are cut between levels. The materials and forms reference a colonial-style greenhouse, with an almost post-apocalyptic approach to the way in which landscape would interact with the building. Over time the structures would appear overtaken by greenery as it peels up through the voids and blankets the new buildings, reinstating the Synagogue as the centrepiece of the site. The project has played a key role in the establishment of a hospitality precinct at Fremantle’s southern gateway and offers both tourists and locals alike the opportunity to interact with one of the city’s historic landmarks in a way never before possible. Photography: Dion Robeson