Higher Ground is an all-day hospitality destination in an evolving city precinct in Melbourne's CBD. The former power station was reimagined to provide 6 new connected levels which line the perimeter of the original building, creating a suite of intimate tiered platforms. The client’s brief sought to evoke the feeling of a hotel lobby - a convivial and animated environment from morning to night.
 In response to this brief the design provides both intimacy and layered perspective within the vast volume. A defined sense of place is provided on each platform with maintained visual connections to the open kitchen, bar and entry. New architectural interventions are designed to sit with deliberate tension between the existing brick and concrete. Midnight blue plate steel staircases are expressed as confident geometric steel forms abutting the columns which support the residential development above. The rich and tactile palette of new materials combines terrazzo, stained cork, painted metal, stainless steel, natural stone, black fibreboard and solid timbers. A distinct suite of carefully considered hues compliments this palette providing depth and nuance against the weighty presence of the existing fabric. Layers of planting, rugs, loose furniture and lighting inhabit the various levels, providing a range of seating options for customers throughout the day.