SRG House

Recognition

  • NSW Architecture Awards (AIA)

    Residential – Houses Alts & Adds

    Winner 2021

  • Houses Awards

    House in a Heritage Setting

    Winner 2021

  • Sydney Design Awards

    Residential – Constructed

    Gold Award 2021

  • Sydney Design Awards

    Interior Design – Residential

    Silver Award 2021

  • Australian Good Design Awards

    Architectural Design Interior Design

    Good Design Award Best in Class 2021

  • Australian Good Design Awards

    Architectural Design Commercial and Residential

    Good Design Award Gold 2021

  • Grand Designs Australia Magazine House of the Year Awards 2022/23

    Large Renovation

    Winner 2023

  • NSW Architecture Awards (AIA)

    Heritage

    Commendation 2021

  • Houses Awards

    Houses Alts & Adds over 200m2

    Commendation 2021

  • Houses Awards

    Houses Awards, Garden or Landscape

    Commendation 2021

  • Australian Institute of Architects

    National Architecture Awards - Residential Ats & Adds

    Shortlist 2021

  • Australian Interior Design Awards

    Residential Design

    Shortlist 2021

  • The Design Files

    Architecture Residential

    Shortlist 2021

  • The Design Files

    Interior Design

    Shortlist 2021

  • IDEA 2021 Awards

    Residential Single

    Shortlist 2021

  • Dezeen Awards

    Interior Design

    Shortlist 2021

  • Australian Interior Design Awards

    Residential Design

    Shortlist 2021

  • National Architecture Awards (AIA)

    Residential – Houses Alts & Adds

    Shortlist 2021

A 1970s heritage waterfront semi is reborn. Within its restored concrete shell, new interior spaces are opened up to gardens and views, while warm, natural materials invoke the Retro spirit with contemporary style.

  • Nestled privately onto a steep Sydney harbourside site, the three-storey semi was built in 1972 as a Sydney home for the prominent Melbourne architect, Sir Roy Grounds. The original interiors had been lost to 1980s renovations, but the structure was sound, and its stepped geometry legible.

  • The concrete superstructure was stripped and re-stored, interior linings removed and the fixed-glass walls replaced with sliding or stacking glass doors that now open the middle (living) level to its cool central courtyard or harbour views to the west.

  • On the lower ground floor, level changes were rationalised to create a new garden sitting room, while old air-conditioning units were removed and the space reconfigured as two bedrooms.

  • New interior elements help furnish the space and soften its geometry, referencing the original materials in a modern way. Wood-wool ceiling panels and cork flooring revive the Retro textures and warmth, while insulating for sound. Plywood joinery throughout is detailed with aged brass. Directly linking the past to the present, are the blood-red bathroom tiles, a colour match for original tiles unearthed in the reconstruction.

Within the restored concrete shell, new interior elements help furnish the space and soften its geometry.

  • Architecture & Interiors Studio Johnston
  • Original Design Frank Walsh, Stuart Whitelaw, Marr Grounds & Sir Roy Grounds
  • Builder SQ Proejcts & Dot Kom Carpentry
  • Structural SDA Structures
  • Heritage Urbis, DFP Planning - Brian McDonald
  • Landscape Dangar Barin Smith
  • Colour Design Lymesmith
  • Photography Smart Anson & Brett Boardman
  • Stylist Kirsten Stanwix Bookallil ⁠