RANDLE STREET HOTEL

Aileen Sage Architects was invited as one of four architects to compete in a City of Sydney Design Excellence Competition for a new hotel in Surry Hills, Sydney. The site included the heritage listed former Henderson’s Hat Factory building with new infill buildings either side.

For this project, we worked with SHARA (Specialist Hotel And Resort Advisory) to develop a proposal that would respond to current market demands and expectations for the location.

This proposal is a response to the context of the site – its history and rapidly shifting character. It recognises the stringent planning controls specific to the site and aims to deliver a high quality architectural response within this urban and heritage framework.

The form, materiality and construction methodology draw inspiration from the history of the area, both from the site directly as well as its surrounding neighbourhood. The former R.C Henderson Ltd building, a simple and robust brick warehouse with internal timber structure built in 1912, is celebrated at the centre of the site and flanked on either side by two buildings, each of a very different character. This strategy conserves the built fabric grain of the street front and its public domain address, whilst consolidating the three sites internally. It also enables a variety of room types and characters within the one development, allowing for a diverse appeal to a variety of clientele.

Project Team: Amelia Holliday, Isabelle Toland, Mitchell Bonus, Sean Akahane-Bryen, Marek Vilasek, Janelle Woo

We acknowledge the Gadi people on whose country we work and create.

We also acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of this Country and their continuing connection to culture, community, land, sea and sky. We pay our respect to Elders and Knowledge Holders past, present and future and express our gratitude for their continued sharing of knowledge and culture.