2023 Gallery
Winner: House in a Heritage Context
Design 5 - Architects for Millers Point Townhouse
In a State Heritage listed Conservation Area, atop an escarpment overlooking Sydney Harbour, is The Millers Point Townhouse - a rare example of the City's early housing. The project restores the legibility and sophistication of the original design while enlivening its character through contemporary insertions that meaningfully interpret lost elements.
Jury Citation
Perched on an escarpment in the state-listed Millers Point Heritage Conservation Area, this pair of neglected 1840s row houses has been transformed into a sophisticated single dwelling by Design 5 Architects. The meticulous analysis, exceptional conservation work and attention to detail that has been invested in this project has resulted in a reinvigorated and exemplary outcome.
The architects’ delight in careful physical and documentary investigations signals their commitment to the scheme. Collaboration with archaeologists, stonemasons and tradespeople has led to the diligent reconstruction and revelation of original features that had been impacted by 1940s renovations. This painstaking work restores the interior spatial arrangement and access to natural light, ventilation and passive climate control. An important and rare historic record of housing from early-nineteenth-century Sydney is revived.
The stonework of the street facade, newly stripped of paint, is celebrated with the reinstatement of light wells, arched entries and French doors to first-floor balconies. These revived features make an exceptional contribution to the streetscape, unifying this dwelling with neighbouring townhouses and providing occupants with stunning views to Sydney Harbour.
While the conservation works are restrained and rigorous, contemporary interventions successfully reinterpret lost elements and meet their clients’ modern brief. This project illuminates 1840s life while guaranteeing the building has a bright and beautiful future.
