PLAY FOR TODAY

An extensive renovation has lent heft to The Playford Adelaide, an iconic hotel with connections to influential political and media figures

BY AL GERARD DE LA CRUZ

THE PLAYFORD’S ALL-DAY DINING VENUE IS NOW A DESTINATION RESTAURANT AND BAR, FEATURING A REVAMPED LAYOUT AND AN ALL-ENCOMPASSING, ARTISTICALLY CRAFTED LIGHTING SCULPTURE

With its ties to major figures, one address in South Australia packs a lot of punch. The award-winning Playford Adelaide at 120 North Terrace recently completed a AUD25-million (USD15 million) renovation befitting of its nominal association. The makeover comes as owner Daniel Sparr takes the reins of the family business from his father, the late Bill Sparr.

The hotel is not only the namesake of Thomas Playford, the Festival State’s longest-serving premier, but was also where Rupert Murdoch sowed the seeds of his media empire.

The elder Sparr acquired the property, formerly the headquarters of The News, in the late 1990s and redeveloped it in the Art Nouveau style, demolishing the building and dramatically reforming its shell. By 2014, The Playford joined Accor’s MGallery Collection of boutique hotels, a rebrand Daniel calls a “natural fit” for the property.

“The Playford hotel, built on the site of Rupert Murdoch’s first newspaper in Adelaide, has always held a special significance as Adelaide’s leading boutique hotel,” says Steven Finlayson, the hotel’s general manager. “The plan for The Playford now is to capitalise on the rejuvenated building with exceptional service and outstanding food and beverage offerings.”

Art has never been an afterthought at The Playford, and the refurbishments are careful to reflect that. Over the years, the Sparrs have decked the hotel with paintings, sculptures, photographs, and works from artists like David Bromley and Alex Frayne. But to court a new generation of guests, Daniel tasked Melbourne’s Hachem Architecture Pty Ltd to do a 2020s rendition of the century-old art movement that his father revived.

“When we sat down with him, I was very clear about our direction. He was also very clear about his objectives as well,” says Fady Hachem, founder of the design practice. “The brief was to keep it as close to the original as possible but put some contemporary twist to it. And that’s what we’ve done: We want to make sure we’ve romanticised the Art Nouveau period, but at the same time make it a more contemporary approach to the idea, making sure that we get good touchpoints around each of the assets.”

The Playford follows a narrative of the maestro, his muse, and their mansion. The hotel’s common areas reflect the maestro’s worldly, peripatetic character with a traditionally masculine aesthetic featuring browns, brass, and stone. The private spaces exude more feminine energy, with a focus on bedrooms and boudoirs.

The refinement of materials steps up through the room categories: a light palette for the standard Sunrise rooms; more wall panelling details, upgraded fittings, and a pop of dusty pink in the larger Dusk rooms; and a rich palette of emerald, sage, and olive for the higher-grade, high-ceilinged, loft-style After Dark rooms. Shades of greens move on to the private courtyard rooms, lined with a landscape bed full of the sunny state’s natural bounty.

Playing with colours, materials, and lighting allowed the consultants to refresh The Playford without destroying too much. The renovation encompassed 60% of the space, with construction company Chroma Group preserving enduring elements such as the colonnades, flooring, and ceilings. The ballroom, with its balcony views and floor-to-ceiling windows, was also left largely untouched.

Only small portions of the building had to be reconstructed. The design team accounted for any demolitions in surveys, ensuring accurate documentation and delivery on all sides.

“If we were to tear down the hotel and rebuild it, it would’ve been easier in terms of our process,” says Hachem. “We had to be very careful on how we were delivering the design to not make those areas that we haven’t really focused on looking old and tired while the new one is looking fresh and exciting. We had to very carefully balance the two.”

More so than the design process, the pandemic challenged the renovation, which gained permission for construction in 2021. The government used the hotel to house travellers during quarantine. But rather than haphazardly reopen doors, the renovation team waited for high-quality building materials from abroad, including essential pieces of joinery, and regrouped its construction workers.

Creating prototypes for the hotel’s lighting installations took months. Hachem worked with several consultants to manufacture the illuminations, running the gamut from flower drops above the reception area to customised

Let There Be Light

Since its renovation, The Playford hotel in Adelaide has gained more picturesque spots than ever. Critics have raved about Luma in particular, a spectacular destination with culinary and mixological offerings to match.

The centre of attraction is a light sculpture that covers the ceiling of the restaurant and bar. Melbournebased design practice Hachem Architecture Pty Ltd designed the installation, with its distinctive, wavelike patterns, through 3D programs, taking notes from extensive research into Art Nouveau.

Lighting consultant Major Graphics went through four prototypes to create the piece, broken down into twoto three-metre lengths before it achieved its current form. At the end of the process, the team would carve timber and make a mould to accommodate the LED, the wood undulating with the form of the light.

“The actual manufacturing of it is just as beautiful in terms of the props that they needed to create the light itself,” says Fady Hachem, founder of Hachem Architecture.

Hanging the installation though was another beast to overcome. The metal stringers needed to skirt the cove as well as the air-conditioning grills, sprinklers, and other existing services in the ceiling.

The installation is part of Hachem’s strategy to reposition The Playford. The hotel was an instant sensation when it fully reopened in 2022, but Hachem was in for a pleasant surprise when he revisited the property a month later.

“All I saw was people taking pictures,” he recalls. “It really became a showpiece for them. It really became a destination, a talking point.”

In addition to designing the illumination, Hachem reshaped the layout of the restaurant and extended the bar. They also added more booths to the restaurant, giving diners more options for sitting other than low chairs and tables.

In the middle of the space is an amphitheatre, treating drinkers and diners to a show as Luma taps into the cultural heartbeat of Adelaide’s entertainment and art precinct.

“Fundamentally, we didn’t just look at the project as just an exercise in making it more functional or pretty but an exercise in drawing more people to the hotel,” says Hachem.

CHANDELIERS WITH CUSTOM-DESIGNED CRYSTAL PIECES AND OTHER PLUSH EMBELLISHMENTS WERE CRAFTED EXCLUSIVELY FOR THE PROJECT chandeliers with cascading crystals in the loft rooms.

The headiest display is above Luma, the hotel’s acclaimed restaurant and bar, which can be glimpsed from the road. Hachem used 3D graphic programs to design the undulating LED installation, manufactured by Melbourne signage specialists Major Graphics.

“When people stop in the traffic, we want their heads to turn to the left and see this amazing sculpture in there and get drawn into it,” says Hachem, calling it an “art piece.”

The light sculpture caught the eye of South Australia premier Peter Malinauskas who attended the hotel’s relaunch.

“He was super impressed with what we’re doing,” says Hachem. “This project elevated Adelaide in terms of expectation. Work that we do in Melbourne, Singapore, and Sydney are more elevated than what would typically be done in Adelaide, but to the client’s credit, he allowed us to push it. Now it can compete on a world stage.”

Receiving leaders and turning heads, The Playford is as much a place to stay as a local institution. In a state with a bright cultural scene, the pageantry of its renovation is par for the course. “It doesn’t look like you can see this project in another city. It belongs in Adelaide and it belongs in that building.”