The Urban Developer
AdvertiseEventsWebinars
Urbanity
Awards
Sign In
Membership
Latest
Menu
Location
Sector
Category
Content
Type
Newsletters
Interested in a Corporate TUD+ Membership? Access premium content, site tours, event discounts and networking opportunities
Interested in a Corporate Membership? Access exclusive member benefits today
Enquire NowEnquire
TheUrbanDeveloper
Follow
About
About Us
Membership
Awards
Events
Webinars
Listings
Partner Lab
Resources
Terms & Conditions
Commenting Policy
Privacy Policy
Republishing Guidelines
Editorial Charter
Complaints Handling Policy
Contact
General Enquiries
Advertise
Contribution Enquiry
Project Submission
Membership Enquiry
Newsletter
Stay up to date and with the latest news, projects, deals and features.
Subscribe
ADVERTISEMENT
SHARE
4
print
Print
OtherRalph NicholsonWed 03 Aug 22

Bold New Look for Sydney’s Historic Rocks Gets Nod

The Rocks Hero

Place Management NSW, which owns and runs much of Sydney’s history, has won approval to build a three-storey commercial and entertainment centre in a street full of heritage-listed buildings in the city’s 230-year-old Rocks area.

Sydney City Council has approved an application to demolish a former bank building from the 1980s wedged between two sandstone structures, built about 140 years earlier.

Under the plan, the former Westpac Bank building will be replaced with a contemporary three-storey building above one basement level, designed by Smart Design Studio. A huge spiral steel staircase will lead to a rooftop terrace with a retractable awning.

There are no plans for a fit-out and the precise use of the building is still to be determined, but the council has approved the development “for future commercial or retail purposes and-or food and drink premises.”

Individual tenants will have to lodge further applications before fit-outs are approved.

The $7.4-million development is planned for the corner of George and Atherden streets in The Rocks, which includes three adjoining street addresses, all within The Rocks Conservation Area.

Two of them house listed heritage items on the NSW Heritage Register.

The building, by Smart Design Studio, will feature huge spiral staircase leading to a rooftop terrace with a retractable awning.
▲ The building, by Smart Design Studio, will feature a huge spiral staircase leading to a rooftop terrace with a retractable awning.


Merchant’s House, built of sandstone in 1848, is a former residence, museum, office and boarding house.

The Union Bond Store at 47 George Street, also of sandstone and built between 1841 and 1843, was at various stages home to a police sergeant, bonded storage for goods cleared by Customs House at nearby Circular Quay, a warehouse for cork, a bottling plant and bulk storage for wine.

Urbis, who prepared the heritage impact study on behalf of Place Management, told the council all vicinity heritage items would be wholly retained and there would be no excavation beneath the historic buildings.

However, under the design, architects are proposing new openings for the western wall of the heritage warehouse, allowing access on all levels from within the new building, in Atherden Street.

The new development will replace a two-level masonry building from 1988.
▲ The new development will replace a two-level masonry building from 1988.

“The majority of sandstone that will be removed to create the new openings will be reused on site to block in existing openings which are proposed to be modified and reduced for consistency,” the study said.

Urbis said the application had been prepared in close consultation with Place Management NSW’s heritage team over 18 months to ensure the significance of the heritage buildings and others in the vicinity were appropriately managed.

The Sydney City Council’s heritage advisor and Heritage NSW were also consulted.

“The proposal is replacing a late twentieth century anachronistic infill building with a new infill building of design excellence and superior quality and amenity,” the study said.

“The proposed building has been carefully designed to complement the strong historical and masonry character of the area and contributes positively to the aesthetics of The Rocks while allowing for a highly contemporary insertion that enhances the character of the area.”

The Union Bond Store was added to the NSW Heritage Register in 2002 as “a rare example of a single bay warehouse in remarkable condition from this period.”

The Victorian Regency-style warehouse was designed by the notable architect John Bibb, and considered one of the few remaining examples of his early work.

It’s longest tenant—from 1875 for nearly 50 years —was a pharmaceutical company producing Row’s Embrocation, a liniment originally intended for horses and cattle but later promoted as a cure for gout, rheumatism, burns, scalds and “old sores of 30 years standing.”

OtherRetailOfficedo not useAustraliaArchitectureSector
AUTHOR
Ralph Nicholson
More articles by this author
ADVERTISEMENT
TOP STORIES
Exclusive

Brains, Guts and Determination: How Salvo Property Shapes Melbourne’s Skyline

Marisa Wikramanayake
5 Min
Fraser and Partners founder Callum Fraser
Exclusive

Saving Our CBDs: Architect’s Blueprint Paves Way for Office-to-Resi that Works

Leon Della Bosca
8 Min
Exclusive

Watchdog’s Court Loss Throws Spotlight on Union Balancing Act

Clare Burnett
6 Min
Time and Place's The Queensbridge Building at 90 Queens Bridge Street in Melbourne's Southbank.
Exclusive

Innovation Keeps Time & Place’s Southbank Skyscraper Rising

Marisa Wikramanayake
6 Min
Breathe Architecture founder Jeremy McLeod in front of his Featherweight Home design
Exclusive

Nightingale Founder’s Bid for Affordable Architectural Kit Homes

Leon Della Bosca
7 Min
View All >
PBSA DA Hindmarsh Square student accomodation tower
Student Housing

Student-Friendly Adelaide Draws 35-Storey PBSA Proposal

Renee McKeown
West End Stockwell Vulture Street DA hero
Development

Stockwell Files Tower Plans in West End Stomping Ground

Phil Bartsch
Exclusive

Brains, Guts and Determination: How Salvo Property Shapes Melbourne’s Skyline

Marisa Wikramanayake
Data, 3D tech and careful research are vital, but count for little without the courage to back it up, says James Maitlan…
LATEST
PBSA DA Hindmarsh Square student accomodation tower
Student Housing

Student-Friendly Adelaide Draws 35-Storey PBSA Proposal

Renee McKeown
3 Min
West End Stockwell Vulture Street DA hero
Development

Stockwell Files Tower Plans in West End Stomping Ground

Phil Bartsch
3 Min
Exclusive

Brains, Guts and Determination: How Salvo Property Shapes Melbourne’s Skyline

Marisa Wikramanayake
5 Min
Westmead Gene Technologies Building EDM
Life Sciences

Plans for $272m Parramatta Biomedical Facility Go Public

Clare Burnett
3 Min
View All >
ADVERTISEMENT
Article originally posted at: https://theurbandeveloper.com/articles/the-rocks-sydney-smart-design-studio-nsw