125 Murray Street

125 Murray Street is a study in what commercial refurbishment can achieve. The nine-storey building sits in Perth's CBD and had stood empty for years, held back by poor natural light, low ceilings and little visual connection to the streets around it. Cox Architecture worked almost entirely within the existing structure and fabric, which allowed the budget to concentrate on the areas that matter most: quality materials, considered lighting and careful detailing.

The result is a flexible commercial offering with floorplates suited to contemporary ways of working. A refined entry sets itself against exposed services and the expressed concrete frame and brickwork on the floors above, giving the interior a character rich in texture and unexpected detail. By reworking what was already in place rather than starting again, the project shows how existing building stock can be brought up to the expectations of modern tenants while meeting the client's commercial goals.

The refurbishment received the Ross Chisholm and Gil Nicol Award for Commercial Architecture at the 2020 WA Architecture Awards.

Architect: Cox Architecture (Sarah Watanabe). Photography: Robert Frith.