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Experiencing Connection – Alexander &CO.
Multifaceted design studio Alexander &CO. creates spirited built environments that resonate with a healthy respect for materiality and community. Driven by a focus on ecological and social sustainability, the Sydney-based practice encompasses architecture, interior design, styling and branding for both the residential and commercial sectors.
A partnership with hotelier Fraser Short and the applauded refurbishment of the landmark Watsons Bay Boutique Hotel in 2013 revealed the potency of Alexander &CO. “At that stage, we hadn’t done a lot commercially, but Watsons Bay exploded, and people were really happy to trust in that limited track record,” says Jeremy Bull, Founder and Principal. Since then, the practice has revived a cavalcade of iconic venues and formed new legacies, locally and globally. There is no shortage of highlight projects to discuss.
Alexander &CO. received international recognition and a slew of design awards for its flawless work on Sean Connolly at Dubai Opera in 2017, a 350-person restaurant and bar with an external courtyard and sky garden within Dubai’s grand opera house. On Australian shores, the team recharged the joyful theatrics of the culturally significant Imperial Hotel in Erskineville in 2018. As the heartfelt home of Sydney’s LGBQTI+ community and the birthplace of ‘Priscilla, Queen of the Desert’, the institution shines again with evocative colour, the right kind of drama and prolonged life for new generations to enjoy. Alexander &CO. has also redefined the breezy beachside locales of the Manly Wharf Bar (2021), Harbord Hotel (2020) and the Burleigh Pavillion (2018), with each venue radiating barefoot ease and the sun-kissed heritage of Aussie surf culture.
Exploring the typology of residential design within public domains, Jeremy and his team produce compelling spaces that feel simultaneously intimate and connected to a bigger story. Within Alexander &CO.’s recently completed headquarters, titled Alexander House, areas shift effortlessly between the communal and private within a Victorian terrace shell in Bondi Junction. The multi-level, multi-award-winning project is a live-work architectural showcase and a stunning expression of Alexander &CO.’s commitment to artisanal details and the human experience of connectivity.
Exploring the typology of residential design within public domains, Jeremy and his team produce compelling spaces that feel simultaneously intimate and connected to a bigger story.
Every Alexander &CO. design is scaffolded by a rigorous understanding of the client’s brand and the venue’s context. “We start the process by forming a brand vision,” Jeremy shares. “The brand pillars are the narrative and storytelling behind the spatial activation. If you don’t have these constraints, you end up with a project that is a visual derivative of whatever’s happening in the zeitgeist.” While Jeremy is hesitant to describe a signature look for the studio, finely crafted and robust materials are combined with a human-centred approach as a throughline for commercial and residential projects from Alexander &CO. “The word ‘timeless’ is often used to describe our work, and I think that’s because we incorporate products and materials that don’t age or have already aged beautifully,” he says.
The use of recycled brick, reclaimed timber and recontextualised fittings and fixtures reduce the ecological load of Alexander &CO.’s output. These materials impart tactility and a grounded, honest feeling. In marrying the old with the new, Jeremy and his team produce unique, site-specific spaces endowed with soul and the energy of the past, tempered by modern comforts and contemporary refinement. “The language you see in our projects is re-use and recycle and a reduction in the actual fit-out,” he explains. “The benefit of the envelope having some heritage or constraint is that the building has already started to tell a story.”
When it comes to an Alexander &CO. interior, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
When it comes to an Alexander &CO. interior, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. “We are sensory beings, and we are storytelling beings, and I think the fit-out is massively not important if you can achieve an ambient experience. That’s certainly instilled in the Alexander &CO. DNA,” Jeremy conveys. “The performance of the lighting and acoustics, the scent and sight of the food, and how you feel it all in your solar plexus is super critical.” Second to that, he says, is the actual nuts and bolts of the design. “If you can create a fit-out by adding as little as possible, the venue owner loves you because the budget is less, and the environment loves you because you didn’t have to junk it up with a fit-out you were obsessed with, but really no one else cared for!”
It’s a humble, resonant approach that has stood the studio in good stead. With each new project, Alexander &CO. further exemplifies a well-honed ability to tell stories through materiality and craft.
