By Smart Design Studio
The redesign and refurbishment of nine floors of Town Hall House is respectful of the original architecture, designed in 1977 by Ancher, Mortlock and Woolley and an iconic example of Sydney Brutalism. Significant elements of the architecture have been reinstated, while a grid of circular pendant lights complements the concrete and stone in the public spaces of the first two levels. Offices across seven floors have been completely rejuvenated, a new bike hub offers end-of-trip facilities and the project is registered as 5-Star Green Star.
Photography: Ross Honeysett
Smart Design Studio, founded in 1997, has a reputation as a multi-disciplinary design studio of excellence. With a diverse range of design projects - master-planning for new urban centres, public projects, commercial, cultural and retail spaces, multi-unit residential developments and private residences - Smart Design Studio produces buildings and interiors of elegant simplicity, a quality which unites our portfolio across differences in scale.
Our studio is run with five separate teams, each with its own area of specialisation. These teams share knowledge and work together at critical stages of the design process, allowing the expertise of one team to influence the designs of others. For example, our interior design team may assist the architectural teams at sketch design stages to develop good space planning and later in the documentation stage with the selection of finishes or lighting design. Conversely, the architectural teams assist the interiors team with structural knowledge, building regulation requirements and construction techniques. And the new designs developed by our private residential team are transferred to our larger projects after they have been constructed and proven to be both effective and efficient.