Inside Maylands’ Textile Factory Reimagined as Design Studios
In Maylands, the conversion of a former textile factory into a cluster of design studios turns an overlooked piece of Perth’s industrial fabric into a working creative address. The project occupies a tight inner-city zone where workshops and warehouses share streets with terraces, cafés and small businesses, close to Guildford and Mount Lawley. Its success is measured not by how new the building looks, but by how convincingly the old structure can support contemporary work.
The factory’s value begins with what was already there: load-bearing brick, a regular grid of columns, timber roof members and the generous floor-to-floor heights needed for textile machinery. Rather than erase those features, the design strategy inserts a new layer of studio life within the retained shell. This approach treats reuse as an architectural argument for keeping useful structures in circulation and giving them another economic purpose.
For Contemporary, the project offers a revealing case study in how adaptive reuse can serve Perth’s design economy. Independent practices need affordable, characterful premises, while established brands often seek spaces that can host client meetings, fabrication and events without feeling corporate. A shared building can answer both demands, provided flexibility and acoustic performance are resolved with care.
The conversion also reflects a broader Australian shift away from disposable fit-outs. Developers and owners are paying closer attention to embodied carbon, while tenants are asking whether a workspace can age well and change without another costly refit. Here, the balance between preservation and performance is tangible: old brick meets new services, and industrial memory becomes part of the daily studio routine.
| Feature | Textile factory era | Design studio era |
|---|---|---|
| Primary purpose | Machinery, production and storage | Design, making, meetings and exhibitions |
| Spatial character | Large open floors divided by industrial processes | Flexible studio bays with shared project rooms |
| Building fabric | Heavy brick walls, columns and timber roof structure | Existing fabric retained and upgraded for modern occupation |
| Circulation | Separate production, delivery and staff routes | Shared entries, meeting spaces and adaptable circulation zones |
| Street presence | Loading doors and utilitarian frontage | Active entries, display areas and occasional public events |
Building studios within the retained shell
The plan starts with restraint. Heavy partitions associated with production are removed, revealing the original column grid and allowing the floor to read as a collection of loosely defined work zones. Small timber-framed studio pods sit within the larger volume, creating places to concentrate without losing sight of the building’s original proportions. The result feels more like a well-used creative workshop than a speculative office development.
Acoustic performance is equally important. Fabricators need robust surfaces, while architects and interior designers require quieter rooms for documentation and client conversations. Rather than applying a uniform acoustic treatment across every space, the project varies the response: resilient floors in making areas, absorptive linings within meeting rooms and suspended screens where teams work close together. Services are consolidated into accessible service zones so future alterations remain straightforward.
At street level, the former loading frontage becomes a more active edge to the neighbourhood. Display windows, a shared entry and a multipurpose presentation room allow the studios to present work without opening the entire factory to passers-by. That balance between security and public presence suits Maylands, where small businesses often benefit from being embedded in a walkable district rather than hidden behind a corporate reception desk.
Keeping material history in plain sight
Retaining the brickwork and timber structure avoids the environmental cost of demolition, but the project treats conservation as more than a carbon calculation. Marks left by machinery, patched floors and previous alterations provide evidence of the building’s working life. These traces are repaired where necessary and left visible elsewhere, giving the new occupants a setting with depth and identity.
New work is designed to be lighter and more adaptable than the original construction. Recycled timber, reused steel sections and repairable joinery reduce the demand for heavy intervention. Services follow existing routes where possible, while insulation and ventilation are integrated without concealing the old walls. The result is a layered interior in which the new elements remain legible as additions rather than pretending to be original.
That approach connects the building to contemporary discussions about circular design and making. Contemporary’s That’s a Wrap offers a useful companion to the project’s material decisions, particularly the emphasis on repair, reuse and a less wasteful fit-out. Local trades are part of this story too. Perth’s joiners, metalworkers, upholsterers and signwriters can work with existing dimensions and repair what is already on site, reducing waste while supporting familiar regional skills.
Designing for Perth’s climate
Perth’s climate places a firm test on any converted industrial building. Hot, dry summers bring strong radiation through west-facing glazing, while winter rain encourages people to seek warmth and daylight at different times of day. The former factory’s high roof and deep structure offer useful advantages, but the conversion must address glare, heat gain and thermal comfort without relying entirely on mechanical conditioning.
Natural ventilation is used to support the changing seasons. Opening panels draw air through the studio floor, while high-level vents release warm air beneath the roof. External shading, internal blinds and screening devices work together because Perth’s low-angle sun can make a single measure inadequate. The concrete floor also provides thermal mass, moderating temperature swings where it remains exposed and adding useful robustness beneath work zones.
This environmental work sits alongside regulatory requirements. Maylands falls within the City of Stirling, so alterations and changes of use may involve local planning assessment, while any work to a place on the State Register of Heritage Places would require additional consideration. The project also needs to meet the National Construction Code for access, fire safety and amenities. Meeting those requirements can shape the conversion significantly, but sensible planning prevents a design solution from becoming expensive or impractical after the concept is complete.
Creating a studio ecosystem
A single occupant could have occupied the factory, but the project instead brings together architecture, interiors, product design and specialist making businesses. Their needs overlap: some require power and fabrication facilities, while others value shared meeting rooms, client areas and material storage. A cooperative model spreads those costs and creates daily encounters between disciplines that might otherwise operate in separate parts of Perth.
The commercial realities remain recognisably Australian. A Perth fit-out is a substantial capital commitment, and small practices must balance rent, deposits, insurance, technology and staff costs before revenue becomes predictable. Shared infrastructure makes that arithmetic more workable. Perth’s design community often describes this kind of arrangement as practical: a flexible room, a reliable build and a building that can support a growing list of collaborators without requiring immediate expansion.
This mixed community also extends beyond the tenants. Makers, suppliers and event organisers can use the shared areas for demonstrations, launches and professional gatherings. Those working across the sector can find the participating practices and suppliers in Contemporary’s exhibitor roster, providing a useful connection between the studios operating inside the factory and the wider design network gathering around them.
Connecting the city’s design community
Adaptive reuse becomes most valuable when a building supports relationships as well as activities. The Maylands studios occupy rooms that can move from a quiet model review to a busy presentation, while shared spaces allow conversations to continue beyond working hours. For a city known for distances between inner-city neighbourhoods and regional centres, the project makes a concentrated creative hub feel accessible within Perth itself.
Contemporary Wine In Design brings that network into the spotlight through a programme of exhibitions, showcases and informal encounters. Details for the Wine in Design event provide opportunities to meet architects, designers, makers and suppliers while discovering work across the built environment. The atmosphere is suited to a former factory: relaxed enough for genuine conversation, yet purposeful enough to generate new commissions and collaborations.
Join the gathering, visit the participating studios and bring your own work into the conversation. Reserve a place at Contemporary Wine In Design and help strengthen Perth’s design community through an evening shaped by good spaces, useful connections and shared ideas.
