A concept design by architect William Smart to transform an historic transport warehouse into modern apartments has been realised in inner-city Sydney.
The completed terrace home and apartment development at Camperdown , Sydney, retains the gabled facade of a circa 1930’s warehouse which was originally owned by the Australasian Transport & Shipping Agency, then later by Southern Cross Supplies.
A collection of 32 new dwellings reside behind the raw, textured shell of the old warehouse where bulk sugar and other foodstuffs was stored.
Smart’s concept paid homage to the building’s robust history by using triangular ‘butterfly’ roofs and a palette of contemporary materials. The old façade was reworked by stripping off the paintwork to reveal the original brickwork.
Sugarmill is on a 2,570sqm site and comprises two, three and four-bedroom terrace homes, two-storey terrace-style apartments and single level units.
The terrace homes are a contemporary interpretation of the traditional Victorian terraces which adjoin Sugarmill. They were designed to cater to inner-city families with three separate living zones.
“We’ve transformed the original building into a series of terrace homes that are modern and which integrate the principles of ecologically-sustainable design as a commitment to responsible living for the future,” said Smart.
“All have high performance glazing and banks of louvres which can be manually controlled to act as a climatic buffer zone, keeping the space cool during summer and warm in winter. Overall the development has solar hot water heating, and rainwater collection for irrigation and car washing facilities.”
The terrace homes features polished hardwood timber floors, floating joinery elements, New Zealand wool carpets, reverse-cycle ducted air-conditioning, designer fitting and fixtures and copious amounts of storage. Kitchens have a large Caesarstone island bench, full gloss polyurethane cabinetry with soft-closing cupboards and drawers, and Smeg appliances.
Some apartments have ceilings up to 4.5-metres high, motorised louvres, industrial-style finishes and heavy-duty sliding doors that open onto practical balconies.
All have access to a sun-lit central courtyard with a lawn area and seating.
