On 4 and 5 November, Sydney Open invited the curious and intrepid to see inside the heritage treasures that trace the city’s beginnings and the architectural wonders that are shaping its present and future.
BMA House
One of the tallest buildings in Sydney at the time of its completion in 1930. Designed in the Art Deco style by architects Joseph Charles Fowell and Kenneth McConnel, it was notable not only for its stature, but also for the emblematic decoration of its facade.
Hong Kong House
Constructed in 1891 to a design by architect Ambrose Thornley, the building was originally named Central Hotel, and became the Gresham Hotel in 1906. For much of its life it was a hotel, with a banking chamber on the ground floor of the York Street frontage. The building was converted to office suites in the late 1980s, and purchased by the Hong Kong Government in the mid-1990s, when it became a home for the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council and the Hong Kong Tourism Board.
Sydney Town Hall
Built on the site of Sydney’s first European cemetery, Sydney Town Hall is a striking blend of French Second Empire architecture, with its mansard roofs and wrought iron cresting, inspired by French chateaux and the Hôtel de Ville in Paris and Neo-Classical architecture.
QVB Dome
Built in tribute to the reigning monarch, the Queen Victoria Building (QVB) was designed by City Architect George McRae and completed, in 1898, on the site of the original city markets and a police court.
PTW Architects
For any architecture practice, its studio is both a workplace and a calling card – embodying its design principles, and reflecting its creative culture to inspire both staff and clients.
Completed in 2017, the PTW studio in Aurora Place was designed through a series of staff workshops. Its ‘kit of parts’ fit-out offers diverse work settings and spaces that enable both collaborative and individual work throughout the 1200-square-metre studio. It also continues a tradition of workspace innovation that pre-dates the current building.
This is just a sampling of the many building that are open for the event, if you’re in Sydney when its on it’s well worth checking out – I just wish the buildings were open for the whole 2 days.
More information on Sydney Open is available at Sydney Living Museums – Sydney Open