Fairlie Wellness Centre, designed by Wood Marsh, is a ground-level adaptive reuse project inside one of Melbourne’s oldest high-rise residential buildings. The structure, known as Fairlie, was completed in 1961 by Yuncken Freeman Brothers, Griffiths & Simpson. It is heritage-listed and celebrated for its modernist design.
A Modernist Landmark Gets a New Use
The building’s architecture includes prefabricated concrete frames and a non-loadbearing curtain wall system. Its most distinctive feature is the set of arched pilotis that lift the structure, creating what looks like a floating base. The project description calls it a “sensitive and considered architectural approach” necessary because of the cultural significance.
Related: Quietly magical Toronto cafe is family-friendly third place
The architects had to work within the existing structure. The intervention is at ground level, which meant it had to respect the original modernist expression while introducing a new function. Minimalist principles guided the design, with refined detailing throughout.
Why Heritage Mattered Here
Fairlie is recognized as one of the city’s earliest and most architecturally significant high-rise residential buildings. Its modernist language — stark concrete frames, open ground plane, clean lines — set a standard for postwar apartment living in Australia. The cultural significance meant any new addition could not simply impose a new style. It had to fit silently.
The design team describes the project as a “ground-level adaptive reuse intervention.” That means the existing structure was largely preserved. The new wellness centre tucks into the base, under those concrete arches. They focused on clarity and restraint. The team avoided adding unnecessary ornament or competing with the original geometry.
Related: 7 Tips To Design A Custom Closet
What the Design Entails
The centre occupies space that was originally part of the building’s open podium. The arched pilotis remain visible. Glass and metal infill panels were introduced, but they sit behind the concrete frame. The result is a contemporary interior that doesn’t erase the history. The architects said the intervention “required a sensitive and considered architectural approach.”
Prefabricated concrete frames define the building’s rhythm. The curtain wall system — non-loadbearing — allowed the designers to insert new openings without altering the structure’s load path. The choices made in the design — and they were many — reflect a careful reading of the original building.
Adapting Without Erasing
There is a tension in any heritage adaptive reuse. The old fabric must be readable. The new use must be functional. At Fairlie, the architects chose to keep the pilotis as a defining element. The wellness centre sits lightly within that space. It doesn’t try to mimic the original but doesn’t fight it either. The detailing is clean — steel, glass, white surfaces — all subservient to the concrete frame above.
Related: The Pros and Cons of Small Wood Stoves
The project is a reminder that good preservation isn’t about freezing a building in time. It is about letting it evolve without losing what made it important. Fairlie was already a landmark. Now it has a new layer of use that respects the old one.
Wood Marsh provided the project description, calling the building “one of Melbourne’s earliest and most architecturally significant high-rise residential buildings.” The modernist expression — minimalist principles, refined detailing — set the rules for the new work. The wellness centre follows those rules.
Leave a Reply