The Terminus Hotel in Abbotsford, slated for demolition and rescued by the Sandhill Road Group, has become another artfully resurrected suburban pub through the longstanding collaboration between Sandhill Road, Visual Builders and Techne Architects. The Hotel’s overhaul was particularly challenging and involved a complete rethink from a design and construction perspective. This was another project that most builders would find challenging, having to receive plans after each stage of the works. The classic façade of the Terminus Hotel remains – but step inside and you enter another world. Some highlights include; the art deco inspired front bar – a modern interpretation of the original pub; a Tasmanian Oak staircase with a black steel piping balustrade and a 1920s-inspired Paris Tropical dining area on level one. The upstairs mezzanine includes a terrace bar with three spectacular rope threaded booths and a timber shingled ceiling and bar, demonstrating Visual Builders attention to detail.

The centrepiece of the redesign is the hotel’s lush 150 square metre beer garden with a nine metre height drop from the glass ceiling and 2 outdoor bars designed to emulate a tropical forest canopy. The overall result is a circulation between the internal spaces and the sprawling urban jungle beer garden, allowing patrons to explore. The Terminus Hotel clearly showcases that when high quality design, operational knowledge and expert workmanship combines, the result is amazing – truly a pub worth seeing.

PHOTOGRAPHY – Shannon McGrath

AWARDS – Runner Up 2015 HIA Victorian Small Commercial Project