Basic HTML Version
The introduction of portals through
Parramatta’s Lennox Bridge has provided an
essential and celebrated connection in the
foreshore pathways along Parramatta River.
The controversial project has been eloquently
executed to reveal and interpret the historic
layers of the bridge, while providing an
exquisitely thoughtful contemporary layer to
this historic asset.
The project required sensitive and prolonged
negotiations with stakeholders which were
aided by the team’s thorough research
and technical knowledge, that revealed the
bridge’s equivocal history.
The stonework is cleaned and re-pointed and
a historically consistent curved balustrade with
projecting cornice has been reinstated. New
stone, profiled and cut with computer aided
fabrication processes, was placed by masons
using Lewis pins - just as Lennox’s masons did
almost 180 years ago. By contrast, the portal
openings are unapologetically contemporary.
Conceived as surgical excisions to the existing
bridge fabric, the 25mm stainless steel lintels
are the only addition to Lennox’s fine wall.
Photo: Alex Rink
HERITAGE ARCHITECTURE
ARCHITECTURE AWARD
Lennox Bridge Portals
Hill Thalis Architecture + Design 5
Architects
The County Clare Hotel and the Carlton United
Brewery Administration Building on the former
Tooth’s Kent Brewery site have been united
to create the Old Clare Hotel. The buildings
different styles have been united with the
addition of a rooftop element that combines
the multiple geometries. Functions are split
with public activity in the Clare Hotel portion
of the complex facing Broadway and the
repetitive hotel functions in the Administration
Building. At street level both buildings and
covered laneway contribute to street life.
The approach used to convert the buildings to
their new use was to ‘unbuild’; openings, cuts
and existing elements are often left as found,
recording successive uses and activities. The
retention of particular joinery elements in
some of the hotel rooms gives a dimension
seldom found in similar spaces. Adaption and
incorporation of existing elements together
with a new roof element make the new Old
Clare Hotel a great addition to the city and
Central Park.
Photo: Chris Court
The Old Clare Hotel
Tonkin Zulaikha Greer
HERITAGE ARCHITECTURE
COMMENDATION
155 Clarence Street is a reinvention of
the former warehouse built in 1939 for
S.Hoffnung and Company Ltd; designed
to both celebrate the original building and
to provide contemporary and dynamic
workplaces, including three new levels of
office accommodation.
The attention given to the brickwork of the
Clarence and Kent Street facades restores
them to near original condition making a fine
contribution to the streetscape. This innovative
project took advantage of the City of Sydney’s
Heritage Floor Space program and delivers a
commendable result, with under floor services
located to reveal the original mushroom
columns, which impart a stylish and unique
character to each level. The roof scape, which
can be seen from nearby buildings, is cleverly
treated as a primary elevation by concealing
the plant and creating a series of landscaped,
luxurious roof terraces
Photo: Brett Boardman
155 Clarence Street, Sydney
Bates Smart with Design 5 Architects
90