An international design hotel featuring the amenity of a North American condo hotel with the personal touches of a European Pensionne – Huski is a unique snowflake in Australian Alpine accommodation. The accommodation isn’t the only unique part of Huski – it was designed to stand in differentiation to the clichéd alpine architecture found in Australia’s skifields. Situated in Falls Creek, we wanted to design a building that not only responded to, but became a part of the natural landscape: a building that the snow could sit into.
The wedged shape site lent itself to a radiating floorplan – the form evokes the European sauna with timber boxes arrayed across the façade. These boxes are far from generic though, the perimeter program of each is tessellated – some are bedrooms, some are terraces, some are living - to create an ‘inhabited façade’ with people doing different things in different spaces across the surface of the building. This reflects the micro and macro views of a snowflake, at long range they look the same but a closer look reveals intricate detail and distinction.
The journey through Huski mirrors the ski day – the hotel is experientially rich. Coming downstairs from your apartment you are able to grab a nourishing meal or snack from the produce store housed on the ground floor. Due to Falls Creek’s ski-in/ski-out amenity you can grab your skis from the ski concierge, head out for a day on the slopes and return straight to your hotel door. At this point it’s all about aprèsski - enjoy a mulled wine next to the communal fire or revive your aching limbs with a soak in the guests’ hot-tub or a visit to the day spa. For the more modest guests, private hot-tubs are located in the rooms.
Huski’s interiors are the product of significant research into trends in tourism. We discovered the increasing popularity of ‘togethering’, where families holiday in larger groups with other families or with extended family. With this in mind, we designed several typologies for the 14 apartments in Huski –
studios, two, three and four bedroom penthouses. The floorplan configuration caters for various combinations of guest groups, who are able to book out single or adjacent apartments. The design of the apartments reinforces the connection with the landscape and including the glass-screened ‘shower
with a view’.
To develop such a unique place, we visited the world’s top ski resorts on a study tour through North America and Europe. Huski is the fruits of our labour – a boutique hotel that offers a personal experience with unparalleled amenity.
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