Inside the $10m Heritage Refit of Sydney’s $25,000-a-Year Members’ Club

Two centuries of history and many past lives—interior designer Emma Blomfield was not short of inspiration when she wandered through the iconic 1849 four-storey former bank at 11 Barrack Street in Sydney’s heart. “There’s nothing else like it,” Blomfield says. “I did a walk-through about a week after Steve Grace found it. I walked through and thought, ‘This is magic’. “I had to go straight into the office and get all the ideas out of my head. One week later I had a 37-page [design] document.” The Pillars is Sydney’s newest members’ club, founded by a group of venture capitalists and entrepreneurs who saw the beauty in the bones of the building, and sought to create a members’ club that focused on art, wellness and connection. The founders include Tank Stream Labs chief executive Bradley Delamare, The Nudge Group chief executive Steve Grace, EB Design Studio founder Emma Blomfield, Black Nova Venture Capital managing partner Matthew Browne, Soho.com.au founder Jonathan Lui and Aussie Angels chief executive Cheryl Mack. The former bank has already lived a life as a a members’ club on three different occasions and was the site of the Property Council of Australia’s offices for three decades. ▲ The library, and interior designer and co-founder Emma Blomfield. All images: Joe Chang It has recently undergone a $10-million refurbishment to create a club where Sydney ’s well-heeled and well-connected pay $25,000 a year to belong. “There were a number of things that had to be upgraded as part of the refit and refurbishment,” Blomfield says. While there was a delicate process of peeling back the layers of additions over the years, what was revealed was strong heritage elements that Blomfield enjoyed designing with. “The library is the library because those walls cannot be moved,” she says. “It was a different type of creative process because you’ve got some constraints, but it all came together relatively easily. “There are some parts of the building that scream new, and there are some that scream 18th century, and it was about ensuring the two could blend together across the building.” The club includes a restaurant and outdoor bar, Eleven Barrack, which the multi-hatted Bentley Restaurant Group operates. ▲ One of the levels is dedicated to wellness and includes cold plunge and sauna. Other spaces include The Parlour, the Private Library, The Atrium and Gallery and The Workspace, which provides co-working spaces and bookable meeting rooms. There is also a full floor of wellness facilities, including a studio for classes, ice bath and sauna space, and a beauty bar. While the club may be within the walls of an almost 200-year-old building, the site of the first Saving Banks of New South Wales, it eschews the stiff, studded leather and dark spaces associated with traditional members’ clubs. Blomfield has instead infused the spaces with light and beauty. She says she loved working on the interiors in the older, more grand parts of the building, particularly the library, parlour and great room. There are 260 lights inside the four pendant lights across this space, which Blomfield says resemble clouds when illuminated. “I had to spend a lot of time understanding how people would use the spaces,” she says. “Sydney is full of heritage and this is a celebration of it.” The spaces also include a hidden rooftop terrace and a foundation members-only basement bank vault for private suppers and exclusive events. The restaurant would also service the three levels of club above it, as well as the aforementioned basement bank vault. ▲ Blomfield says the light-filled co-working spaces are adaptable and combine the newer and older parts of the building’s history. The Pillars co-founder and Tank Stream Labs chief executive Bradley Delamare says the club has received strong interest. “We have created a future-focused destination for Australia’s most progressive minds in business, technology, and entrepreneurship,” Delamare says. “[It’s] a new landmark community that reflects the diversity of thought, industry, gender, culture and background that will drive Australia’s future,” he says. “Despite global influences and uncertainties, Australian entrepreneurs continue to demonstrate resilience and grit—and The Pillars delivers the right environment to encourage collaboration, innovation and support.” The Tieck family’s Gwynvill Group has owned the building since 2007, acquiring it for about $10 million at the time.

Inside the $10m Heritage Refit of Sydney’s $25,000-a-Year Members’ Club

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