The successful tender to redevelop the Sirius building (originally built in 1981) led by JDH Capital with BVN proposed retaining the existing structure to reduce embodied carbon, preserving its architectural heritage, and maintaining the Sydney Harbour views of the unique dual-aspect apartments. Retain, Restore, Reimagine was the design mantra adopted to retain the original architecture, restore the building’s concrete structure, and reimagine it with new interventions enhancing apartment amenities and improving the public domain. Copper cladding distinguishes the new additions from the existing building, offering legibility of Sirius’ original Brutalist expression, its history and evolution.

The redevelopment delivers 75 apartments, four commercial and three retail strata lots, an expanded range of shared residential facilities, upgraded public domain and landscaping. On a civic scale, Sirius prioritises reconnection with the site and local community by carefully stitching the building back into its urban context, surrounding streets and pedestrian pathways of The Rocks. The original apartments were modest in size and amenity with thermal and acoustic challenges and some lacking outdoor space. Upgrades included new light-weight prefabricated balcony modules replacing existing precast reveals, and the highly visible roof terraces have new landscapes integrated with solar panels.

Photography: Bryn Donkersloot