The original two-storey main building is a robust ironbark trabiated structure with exposed bearers, joists and timber cross bracing, and handsome oregon trusses.

The brief required the use of the original building for offices, print room and reception, which we located on the ground and first floors, and meeting rooms, two of which we housed on a new mezzanine floor. The building also needed WCs, kitchen, impressive foyer area, adequate car/bicycle parking, disabled access and some means of identifying the company from the street without using overt street signage.

The new addition takes the form of a contemporary ‘landmark’ shape, aligned with the original building, at the same scale and in strongly industrial-looking materials. It was conceived as a striking interlocking double wedge form, cantilevered above the remnant front brick wall, and connected to the old building via a glazed slot serving as a passageway.

To resonate with St Peter’s stained glass windows and add colour and elegance to this corner of Parramatta, the proposed slender glass tower will appear subtly coloured and patterned by internal blinds which are part of the façade’s environmental performance system. Such environmental devices will offer a more pleasant atmosphere inside the building.

A new cinema complex of 730 seats was placed on the roof of the building, with retail and other functions below. The auditoria are articulated as a series of metal-clad boxes, with an attached glass foyer overlooking the city and the Harbour. A promenade staircase was developed as a sculptural link to the various levels, lit by an elevated glass roof lantern, which marks the street corner.

Internally, the original concrete structure of the building is left exposed, a contrast to the selection of metals – zinc, aluminium, stainless steel – and the white glass and grey stone used for the circulation zone. The upper-level foyer and the cinemas are enriched with traditional vibrant reds.

Customs House is a significant heritage building dating from 1845. It was built in successive stages in a variety of differing Classical styles, reaching its pre-renovation stage after he enclosure of its internal court in 1918. The significant 19th Century sandstone fabric was extensively conserved, and unsympathetic additions removed to reveal as much as possible of the original courtyard space. The most important interior spaces were also restored, while other areas were left flexibly serviced for a variety of future cultural uses.

Escalators and new glass lifts created a vertical public promenade, catching unexpected views of the surrounding city through the fully glazed new south wall.

The high level of energy-efficient, environmentally sustainable design achieved for Customs House is unusual for a heritage refurbishment project. The design integrates sophisticated mechanical, lighting and solar control systems to enable virtually the whole building to be naturally ventilated and naturally lit.

The glass roof, floating above the upper levels, bring light deep into the six-storey atrium. Layered glass solar-control blades track the sun throughout the day and year, reacting to overcast and night-time conditions.

A significant element of the project was the reworking of the Customs House Square. This was the location of the pre-1848 shoreline of Sydney Cove, where European settlers first landed in Australia. The paving of the Square marks this line using the intersection of the building’s axial geometry with that of the adjoining streets.

The conservation and refurbishment of the 1918 Penrhyn House, and the reconstruction of the adjoining 1970s car park into a mixed-use facility created a civic focus for The Rocks. New facades, deeply modelled and carefully-articulated, envelop the 1970s building, and relate to adjoining large-scale Colonial and Victorian warehouses. Both levels have multiple entrances from the surrounding streets and lanes. A new glass-roofed portico provides a major covered public gallery facing onto the Square.

Detailed urban design analysis of the surrounding environment was required o ensure the new work complimented Sydney’s ‘Historic Village’. These investigations influenced the design of new colonnades and the square itself, as well as the upgrading of the surrounding streets.

Materials were selected to match the stone, brick and render of the neighbouring Victorian residential and warehouse buildings, and have been left unfinished where possible. Face brick matches the colour of the convict-made sandstock bricks, and sandstone is used as paving and for walls to the public spaces. The interior is defined with expressive hardwood detailing and purpose-designed light fittings.

The design respects the ad-hoc manner in which Norton Street has developed, with a strong regional character and an intensity of commercial activity. An expressive functionalist approach was adopted, where the face of the building is composed from the uses found within. The tenancies push forward to display their contents to the street.

The composition is strengthened by the use of light to describe solid forms, with a backlit fibreglass parapet and a series of glowing fins over the entrance. The exterior appears both rugged and refined, a design strategy that was carried throughout the building to satisfy the limited budget. This approach also offered scope for purposeful detailing and higher levels of finish in critical public locations.

This complex project involves the retention and adaptive reuse of heritage sites as well as new buildings. Approximately 16000sqm of space both new-build and refurbished will create a vibrant new retail, entertainment, dining precinct and a boutique hotel, “Off Broadway”, focused on a characterful urban mix of buildings.

The project offers an outstanding opportunity for urban renewal that reflects the eclectic, historic and dynamic character of the inner city.

Four newly built two storey retail buildings by Tonkin Zulaikha Greer surround the major open space of the Showgrounds former Parade Ring. They replace demolished mid 20th Century grandstands, and have been designed to address both the Ring and the new curving pedestrian street located behind them. The new buildings accommodate a mix of restaurant and general retail, and integrate with large areas of public open space. The forms of the buildings relate to the adjoining historic grandstands, and to the pedestrian routes that have been retained or created on the site.

The single-pitch and curved rooflines respond to the arc of the pedestrian street. The end elevations are modulated to create, between each of the buildings, a range of smaller open spaces. Details and materials (metal, face brick, timber) were developed to continue the spirit of the old Showground in a contemporary way.

The new building accommodates the offices and broadcasting studios of Gadigal Information Services (Koori Radio), National Indigenous Television (NITV) as well as other Indigenous organisations.

The site has a principal façade to the West on to Cope Street, three-storeys high and approximately 16m wide. The façade is clad in perforated louvre panels that provide sun shading and a canvas to showcase a significant commissioned indigenous artwork.

This strategy of cladding the building with an artwork, by Indigenous Artist Adam Hill, provides a proud Indigenous statement, sense of ownership and identity for the Redfern community. The artwork provides a vehicle by which to promote the new building and the area engendering a sense of optimism about the future for this vital inner-city community.