Sydney Open

The Sydney Open is an event that offers a chance to explore the city’s most historic and significant buildings, religious structures and architectural monuments.

Come and participate in this event and explore some of the city’s best architectural accomplishments. If you love history, architecture, and design, you’ll love the Sydney Open!

Held over several Sundays throughout 2024–25, this carefully curated program opens the doors to select buildings under key themes, including Adaptive Reuse, among many more. The revamped program makes Sydney Open more enjoyable, allowing visitors to engage with unique spaces throughout the year.

Designed to be viewed over the day, each Sydney Open event also unlocks so much more: a rare opportunity to hear fascinating insights and captivating stories from those ‘in the know’—global leaders in architecture, design, and placemaking, academics, and arts and culture experts.

Enjoy immersive experiences that peel back the layers to reveal the personalities, innovations, and historical contexts that brought these unique environments to life. These will give you a broader understanding and knowledge of our city’s architecture, history, and design.

Adaptive Reuse

Around the world, architects and planners adapt abandoned spaces and old buildings for new and contemporary uses. This is not only a practical way to preserve the past and spearhead urban renewal, but it’s also a great way to tap into local histories, build dynamic, flourishing new communities, and breathe new life into entire neighbourhoods.

In this Sunday line-up, we’ll explore six world-class examples of adaptive reuse, including the recently relaunched arts precinct at Rozelle’s White Bay Power Station and Sub Station No. 164 and Machine Hall – two disused and degraded industrial buildings brought back to life by Built and fjcstudio. Afterwards, visit the Sirius building in The Rocks, which is layered with history and now reimagined by JDH Capital and BVN Architecture. Be one of the first in the world to see the redevelopment of this iconic site.

It’s then on to The Brewery – the final piece in the puzzle for Central Park’s massive mixed-use project. The Brewery is an exceptional example of Sydney’s innovation and technology precinct, reimagined by IP Generation, Johnstaff, and Tzannes.

Finally, explore 50 Martin Place, the world’s most expensive building when it was built in 1928 and is now home to Macquarie Group. Explore how the architects and project team reimagined the space in 2015 and connected it to its new 2024 global headquarters at 1 Elizabeth Street.

As part of this event, Museums of History NSW invites attendees to celebrate 20 years of the Mint project with behind-the-scenes tours with our guides.

The Mint

Formerly the ‘Rum Hospital’ and the Sydney Royal Mint, this site is rich in history.

The Mint contains one of the oldest surviving public buildings in the Sydney CBD. Built in 1816, it was originally the southern wing of a general hospital for convict patients. It was known as the ‘Rum Hospital’, built by contractors in exchange for a monopoly on importing 45,000 gallons of rum to the colony. The site also includes the important remains of the Sydney branch of the Royal Mint, which has been in operation since 1855.

The Mint closed in 1926, and the buildings – ignored and largely forgotten –throughout the 20th century were listed for demolition. However, they were to survive into the 21st century when the Historic Houses Trust of NSW, recognising their historic significance, began the Mint project.

The Mint was adapted for its present use in 2004. The project involved transforming this unique cultural asset into a fully functioning contemporary space, including accessible public spaces, display areas, offices, meeting rooms for staff, venue hire, and retail areas. The project set new benchmarks for adaptive reuse in Australia and worldwide.

Led by Richard Francis-Jones and Elizabeth Carpenter of FJMT Architects, it was the first project to receive both the Australian Institute of Architects’ Sir John Sulman Medal for Outstanding Public Architecture and the Francis Greenway Award for Conservation. The Mint was also awarded the Lachlan Macquarie Award for Heritage and was nominated in the UK’s Building Services Journal as one of the ‘top 30 ground-breaking buildings of the world’.

Twenty years on – as a significant heritage site, a public space and a workplace – The Mint continues to inspire and delight. Skilfully weaving old and new, it has been successfully situated in both a historical and a contemporary context. Today, The Mint is home to Museums of History NSW’s head office, the Caroline Simpson Library, the Bullion Store cafe and various venue hire spaces.

Visitors can explore the rooms of the former hospital where the assistant surgeon and other staff once lived and examine the archaeological remains of the Sydney Royal Mint in the courtyard and rear buildings.

The Brewery

Discover the innovative Brewery Yards at Central Park, Sydney’s premier $2 billion mixed-use precinct,

Discover the innovative Brewery Yard at Central Park, Sydney’s premier $2 billion mixed-use precinct. As the final piece in this transformative development, The Brewery stands at the heart of the Sydney Innovation and Technology Precinct – Australia’s largest of its kind. This cutting-edge space merges historical charm with modern sustainability, offering six floors of commercial workspace alongside vibrant retail and hospitality areas.

Originally the Carlton United Brewery, the site has been meticulously reimagined through adaptive reuse, preserving its heritage while integrating state-of-the-art technology. Key features include an elegant trigeneration plant that provides efficient power, heating and cooling while reducing carbon emissions by 180,000 tonnes over 25 years.

Sydney Open attendees will be among the first to explore this landmark, which showcases how heritage buildings can be revitalised to meet contemporary needs. Don’t miss your chance to experience this blend of history and innovation and witness how The Brewery sets new urban regeneration standards.

White Bay Power Station

White Bay Power Station is a unique survivor of Sydney’s industrial past and one of the only power stations in the world to retain extensive evidence of its building and technological expansion in the 20th century.

It was listed on the NSW State Heritage Register in 2006 and is currently undergoing extensive works to adapt, reactivate, and welcome the public to the power station.

The power station underwent various remedial works over the last four decades, but an extraordinary conservation effort to restore the site for community use has been ongoing since 2021.

Remediation and conservation work was completed per the site’s conservation management plan to ensure that the heritage integrity of the power station is maintained.

Work included:

• repair to the roofing and guttering to ensure buildings are watertight and protected from deterioration
• removal of a significant number of hazardous materials, including lead paint dust, asbestos and biohazards
• facade remediation, including render and masonry repairs, sandstone works, window protection
• stabilisation of the two external landmark chimney structures
• structural steel repair, including corrosion removal and protection and plate strengthening to mitigate section loss
• significant concrete stabilisation and repair to ensure safety from potential falling objects
• smoke detector coverage was installed across the buildings

Sirius

The Sirius building in Sydney is an emblem of 20th-century architecture and social activism.

Saved from demolition by developer JDH Capital, Sirius is one of many Australian buildings that benefit from being redeveloped rather than knocked down and rebuilt. It may have been the more difficult and more expensive route to take, yet one that ultimately opens a new chapter for the much-loved building.

Tao Gofers designed the original social housing project for the NSW Government Architect’s office in the late 1970s. It overlooks The Rocks district of Sydney Harbour and is one of the few surviving examples of Brutalist architecture in Australia, a style renowned for bold geometry, expressed concrete construction, and iconic stature.

Thoughtful interventions in the form of copper-clad ‘pods’ build on Sirius’s design language and are a modern interpretation of the concrete modules. Supported by prefabricated steel structures, these balcony extensions provide new outdoor living and capitalise on harbour views.

Alongside restoring the building, the reimagined design concept prioritises linking Sirius back into The Rocks via a new thoroughfare, public lift, and the reintroduction of greenery across the site.

Laneways are reactivated with retail, small offices/home offices (SOHOs), and commercial spaces. A thoroughfare improves pedestrian access from Gloucester Walk to Cumberland Street, enriched with historical artefacts curated in collaboration with heritage consultants Urbis. New landscaping, along with a northern pocket park, also provides communal open space and improved amenities.

A story of survival and adaptation, the skilful regeneration of this landmark building marks an exciting new chapter – Sirius is a beacon for enduring architecture and ambitious retrofit projects in Australia.

50 Martin Place

Heritage building reimagined as a modern workspace.

When 50 Martin Place first opened in 1928 as head office for the Government Savings Bank of NSW, it was the city’s tallest, most expensive building, and boasted the world’s largest banking chamber.

JPW architects for Macquarie Group have since transformed it. In 2015, the banking chamber’s intricate Neoclassical detailing, including marble and scagliola (stylised plaster) columns, was restored.

Above, a new steel-framed glass-leaved atrium was installed, filling the space with light and drama. The stunning dome was designed as a fifth facade seen from neighbouring buildings as a shimmering lantern. 50 Martin Place is a building of high cultural, social and economic significance for Sydney, and the refurbishment broadens its significance by establishing a new benchmark for sustainable design through building reuse.

On the ground floor, experience the historic banking chamber and the Warrane exhibition. Then, travel in the glass elevators to access the rooftop terrace and view art from the Macquarie Group Collection.

50 Martin Place was built by and for the Government Savings Bank of NSW between 1925 and 1928. In 1984, the Commonwealth Bank made 50 Martin Place its head office, sparking a major refurbishment that began in January 1985.

In 2012, Macquarie Group acquired 50 Martin Place as the new location for its global headquarters, reinvigorating the building to reflect the company’s contemporary philosophy around workplaces while respecting its heritage and the land on which it was built.

The restoration included preserving the building’s heritage features, upgrading the infrastructure to create a six-green Star building, enhancing the building by widening the atrium to allow more natural light to permeate, and adding an elegant domed roof and circular glass lifts. Winning multiple awards, the design sought a balance between the building’s past and present to create an office that supports the company’s future and is now integrated with the new 1 Elizabeth building to create a single campus for all Sydney-based staff.

Machine Hall and Sub Station No. 164

The adaptive reuse of Sub Station No. 164 is considered one of Sydney’s most unique and sustainable office developments. This transformation is set to guide and inspire others considering sustainable heritage redevelopment.

After sitting unused for decades, Sub Station No. 164 is today a striking example of Sydney’s ambitious approach to revitalising historic architecture. This transformative project married two adjacent heritage buildings on Clarence Street—a 1909 wine and spirit warehouse and a 1930 substation—into one of the city’s most dynamic sustainable office developments.

As both the developer and builder on the project, Australian-owned construction and development group Built was able to use its experience and capability in complex construction and heritage refurbishment to unlock the site’s many challenges and constraints that had previously been insurmountable to other developers.

Original elements like the brickwork, warehouse floors, windows and even the early hydraulic lift have been retained. A notable feature of the redesign is the reimagined ‘Machine Hall’ with its impressive 12-metre-high ceilings, now repurposed as an event space.

The project’s design, by fjcstudio (formerly FJMT), introduces a delicate balance of suspension and contrast. A lightweight glass extension seems to float above the robust brick foundations, creating a harmonious blend of old and new.

Its elegant glass skin distinguishes the new structure, seamlessly integrating with the existing brickwork below. This sinuous facade, enhanced by advanced glass technology and a linear translucent ceramic frit pattern, conveys a sense of buoyancy and fluidity. Innovative engineering subtly integrates eight floors, more than doubling the original height. The building’s steel framework is expressed openly, contrasting with the historical fabric and contributing to a striking visual balance.

Above the heritage buildings, the lightweight, glass-clad extension appears as a floating cloud, creating a unique vantage point from which to appreciate this exceptional Sydney development’s historical and contemporary elements.