Designing Owston Hotel

Where do you start when designing a hotel?

Owston Hotel is the adaptive reuse of a heritage building in the heart of Fremantle’s West End, reimagined as a contemporary locanda – an intimate, small-scale guesthouse with rooms above Vin Populi restaurant. Inspired by the hospitality traditions brought to the area by European migrants in the 1950’s, the project celebrates the building’s layered cultural and architectural history.

Vin Populi and Owston Hotel were both designed by award-winning local studio Rezen. Join Rezen’s Zenifa and Rhys Bowring, Tom Metcalf from developer Fini Group, and Owston manager Mia Simpson, to hear how this charming hotel was taken from idea to reality.

The event starts with a visit to the hotel (timed slots every 10 minutes from 5.30pm to 6.20pm). You'll experience the space and see how the work of local designers, makers and artists has been incorporated into the design to embed it with a sense of place.

From there, head to the Corner Room in the P&O Hotel to hear the conversation, commencing at 6.40pm, including an intro to the Rezen-designed Reuben’s Supper Club upstairs.