Antara Studios
A building and project with a story to tell
After working on a few community focused projects, Breearna realised that this is where her passion is. So, when Amy first approached us, Owen knew that she was the right person for the job. Breearna and Owen spent roughly 18 months working with Amy trying to find the perfect building to be Antara's home. Eventually, 299 Ruthven Street emerged as the right space to bring the Antara vision to life.
Antara Studios is a place that fosters mental clarity and emotional support. Somewhere that the community can come together to practice yoga, pilates, and meditation. These traditional practices have stood the test of time and so too has this building. It is estimated to be over 140 years old and has been home to a motor mechanic, a Turkish restaurant, administration office, and a dance studio, to name a few. It also withstood severe flooding in the 2011 floods, a fire, a huge infrastructure expansion and massive commercial developments nearby. It has endured so much over the last century, and we are extremely grateful to have played a part in the adaptation of the space to support the next chapter of its life.
The juxtaposition of old and new is nowhere more apparent than within the foyer and change rooms on the ground floor. The building itself is now a metaphor for the refreshment of mind and body that occurs within the walls. Entering the building a person may feel tired and stressed, much like the original parts of the building, epitomised by the screen fabricated from worn timber salvaged from the building. As one ventures further into the building the old gives way to new materials and light airy spaces where the worries of the day melt away.
At the 2022 BDQ + James Hardie State Design Awards, the project was awarded the Best Commercial Renovation – what an honour! Breearna’s night got even better as her hard work and passion for design resulted in her receiving the Emerging Building Designer award.
Words from our Client:
“If you would have it, it was fate that I was meant to work with the StruXi team. They impressed me with their integrity and honesty right from the word go. They were very approachable, and very easy to work with. We encountered a lot of hiccups, a lot of bumps on the road and they never made me feel like there wasn’t a solution that was going to benefit us and everybody else involved.”