A unique custom glass balustrade solution for 44 King St, Perth

The fully bespoke glass balustrade system at 44 King St in Perth delivers a commanding sense of scale.

Massive 19mm glass panels up to 260kg per piece span the staircase like giant glass origami, at points reaching over head height. When the Nokia 3310 was a ‘smart’ phone, and long before Perth’s King St was fashionable, Space Agency Director Michael Patroni was busy designing the restaurant 44 King St for the ground floor of this state heritage listed building.These days it’s mortgage demanding bags in place of working lunches with well known faces from the terrace, however upstairs, Space Agency Architects are back at old stomping grounds, delivering a tasteful nod to years past with a re-invigorated space for a commercial tenancy.Following a philosophy of simple, honest expression of material and finish, Space Agency have transformed the first floor of 44 King St into an superbly finished space, fit for a hipster internet startup from Portland.The refreshingly clean and light re-fit hinges around a simple colour and textural palette, raw materials and extensive use of architectural glass to achieve a sense of space that exposes as far as possible the orginal brick walls.

A visually commanding entrance feature, the stunning glass balustrade boasts oversize, custom shaped 19mm glass panels fixed to a raw steel stringer and handrail, with the largest panel topping out at 1900mm and weighing over 250kg.

‘The new staircase and glass elevator provide universal access from the street to the first floor tenancy, and are inserted into the old warehouse building with a clear delineation between old and new’ says Tobias Busch, Project Architect. ‘The project re-introduces a state heritage listed space to King St that had previously been disconnected, where possible, we have retained and exposed historic fabric and detail to express continuity of past, present and future. We worked closely with our consultant team and subcontractors In order to achieve both pragmatic and poetic outcomes, and thoroughly enjoyed the enthusiastic, positive contribution of our collaborators.’

The final outcome, which achieved a commendation in the small projects category and a shortlisting for the Mondoluce Lighting award, is space that combines the clean, minimal lines provided by glass together with raw steel in a timeless industrial finish.

With bright light washing into the space through beautiful heritage windows and onto a warm, unsealed timber floor, the only things missing are some beanbags, a pool table and a beer fridge filled with small batch IPA.