February 2026 |
St Kilda East | Adaptive Reuse | Mental Health Innovation
At HATZ, we believe in designing a future worth living in and that future includes spaces that heal, restore and transform lives.
The Journey Psychological Rehabilitation Clinic at 344 Dandenong Road, St Kilda East represents a thoughtful marriage of heritage conservation and contemporary mental health innovation. This adaptive reuse project transforms a significant heritage boarding house into a purpose-designed residential mental health facility, home to what will be the world's first mental health clinic to specialise in individualised altered-state therapies.
A New Chapter for Heritage Architecture
Rather than demolish, we restored and reimagined. The project carefully adapts the existing three double-storey buildings, including a heritage-listed front building designed in 1919 by Howard R. Lawson - a pioneering Melbourne architect known as 'the architect who builds' who championed adaptive reuse decades before it became standard practice. External restoration works breathe new life into the structure, replacing roof tiles, restoring original windows and leadlight details and removing non-original elements, while introducing essential accessibility upgrades including a DDA-compliant wheelchair platform lift.
This approach reduces embodied energy compared to new construction while conserving an important piece of Melbourne's architectural heritage. Every design decision was informed by detailed heritage impact assessments and arboricultural advice, including sensitive repositioning of the vehicle crossing to protect significant street trees.
Purpose-Designed for Healing
Located in the heart of Melbourne, The Journey Clinic offers residential rehabilitation programmes ranging from 7 to 90 days. Run by Dr. Eli Kotler, Dr. Arthur Hokin and clinical leaders in the field of psychedelic and breathwork-assisted therapies, the clinic takes a humanistic and psychodynamic approach. As Dr. Kotler and the clinical team explain: "A humanistic and psychodynamic lens ensures we aim to heal people rather than treat psychiatric disorders. Progress is measured by integration rather than symptom control."
The design creates distinct therapeutic zones: the restored heritage front building houses consulting therapy rooms, reception areas and group meeting spaces for depth-psychology and altered-state work, while the residential wings provide 13 private rooms where patients receive comprehensive, individually tailored support. The clinic's approach is founded on the principle that to heal, we must connect to ourselves and others, and turn and face our difficulties rather than avoid them.
Operating with clinical staff on site 24/7, the facility combines cutting-edge therapeutic modalities with the dignity and calm of a residential setting, representing a paradigm shift in psychiatric care.
Wellbeing by Design
True to our values of design excellence and client success, every element supports both immediate functionality and long-term therapeutic outcomes:
- Inclusive access: DDA-compliant lifts and reworked entries ensure equitable access for all patients and visitors
- Therapeutic landscape: New landscaping and tree protection measures create restorative outdoor spaces that support the clinic's healing-centred philosophy
- Sustainable systems: Updated stormwater management, bicycle parking and excellent public transport access reduce car dependence
- Managed operations: Comprehensive management policies govern deliveries, waste collection and operating hours to support both patient wellbeing and neighbourhood amenity
From Rooming House to Recovery Centre
This project exemplifies our commitment to creating memorable spaces that deliver genuine social benefit. By transforming a 31-room boarding house into a 13-bed therapeutic facility with dedicated clinical spaces, we're reducing density while increasing purpose and care quality.
The Journey Clinic proves that heritage buildings can have vital second lives and that architecture, when designed with intention and compassion, can genuinely shape recovery and restore hope. The project creates a sanctuary for pioneering therapeutic work, where the dignity of heritage architecture meets the innovation of Australia's most clinically advanced psychological rehabilitation approach.
Project Details:
Services: Architecture, Interior Design, Landscape Design, Heritage Consultation, DDA Compliance Design
Location: 344 Dandenong Road, St Kilda East VIC
Client: A Hokin & P Hunt and The Trustee for Kotler Holdings Trust
Facility Operator: The Journey Psychological Rehabilitation Clinic
Type: Adaptive reuse | Heritage restoration | Mental health facility
Scope: Residential mental health facility with 13 private rooms, consulting/therapy spaces and heritage restoration
Opening: 2026
