PROJECT FILES: Sydney’s industrial past is being reimagined at pace. From Alexandria and Redfern to Marrickville, former industrial belts that once ringed the CBD are transforming into creative hubs, food and culture destinations and high end residential developments.
For gentrifying suburbs, these developments enable people and businesses to stay close to city centres, reduce car dependence, support public infrastructure and make more efficient use of land that might otherwise lie dormant.
Not far from the Sydney CBD, Rosebery tells a familiar story. One of the city’s first planned suburbs, it was originally designed to support workers with modest detached housing located within walking distance of industrial employment.
But by the 1970s, as Australia’s manufacturing base began to shrink, so too did the suburb’s industrial heart. The warehouses emptied, the smokestacks went quiet, and a new kind of resident began to arrive – young families, creative workers and professionals drawn to its proximity to the city. Decades later, demand for inner city living has only intensified. Now absorbed into the broader Green Square renewal area, the suburb is once again on the move. By 2030, Green Square is projected to house 61,000 people at a density rivalling cities like Hong Kong, with an estimated 22,000 people per square kilometre.
Rosebery Engine Yards revitalises a 1.9 hectare heritage listed industrial site in Sydney’s inner south into a landmark mixed use precinct. Developed by Goodman Group, designed by GroupGSA and built by Taylor Construction, the project offers a compelling case for how industrial legacies can be repurposed – not just preserved – to serve contemporary cities. Once home to Westinghouse and Buzacott & Co., the site carries a rich industrial history.
The project retains the site’s original brick façades, steel trusses and iconic sawtooth roofs, while delivering high spec commercial, retail and event tenancies. An exercise in carbon conscious architecture, Rosebery Engine Yard achieves over a 30 per cent reduction in embodied carbon through material retention and reuse, targeting both 5 Star Green Star and NABERS ratings.
Technical and architectural innovation
Delivering performance in a non typical building envelope
Heritage buildings often struggle to meet contemporary environmental standards due to their thermal inefficiencies. For us, many parts of the envelope, such as the single layer brick walls and steel framed windows, could not be upgraded using traditional means.
In response, the team implemented a performance by design approach, enhancing passive environmental controls through operable windows, natural ventilation strategies and solar control via the building’s orientation. The building’s deep footprint was segmented using glazed partitions to maintain airflow and maximise daylight without detracting from its openness.
Interventions were designed to be reversible wherever possible, ensuring that future generations can reinterpret or repurpose the site without compromising its core character. This “light-touch” strategy respects the building’s past while ensuring its relevance and usability for decades to come.
Structural integrity in an aged fabric
Rather than demolishing and rebuilding, the project retained the original structural elements, including brickwork, steel trusses, mezzanines, gantries and roof frames. These components were repaired and strengthened in place, preserving their industrial character while extending their functional lifespan and creating a flexible foundation for future changes in use.
The original structures, dating back over a century, had deteriorated after years of vacancy and disuse. Careful structural analysis was required to identify which elements could be retained and which needed strengthening. The steel trusses, for instance, were restored in situ rather than replaced, using non-invasive reinforcement techniques that preserved their appearance and functionality.
Working around and within the delicate building envelope called for custom construction methodologies, particularly during the insertion of modern services and mechanical systems. This process demanded close coordination between the design, engineering and construction teams to ensure safety and precision at every turn.
Balancing heritage conservation with modern compliance
One of the most significant challenges was working within the constraints of heritage preservation while meeting contemporary performance standards. The site’s key architectural elements – the brick façade, steel trusses, mezzanines and iconic sawtooth roofs – were subject to strict heritage controls and could not be altered or insulated using conventional methods.
To address this, the team used advanced JV3 thermal modelling to tailor environmental strategies that worked with the building’s limitations rather than against them. Operable sawtooth roofs were retained and fitted with modern ventilation systems, using the building’s original form to naturally light and cool the interior, reducing the need for artificial lighting and mechanical cooling.
The development incorporates rooftop solar panels, which contribute to the site’s renewable energy supply. Double glazed windows were fitted into original openings to improve insulation. Combined with the use of 100 per cent renewable electricity, the project minimises its operational carbon footprint, ensuring ongoing reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
Services and tenant experience
User centric flexibility and amenity design
Lune Croissanterie, Gelato Messina, Zimmermann, Oroton, Estée Lauder, Aje, Rebecca Vallance, Viktoria & Woods, July and M.J. Bale are among the lineup of retailers to join the precinct to date. GroupGSA designed the tenancies with a plug and play ethos – minimal intervention required to occupy, with shared services and infrastructure designed around efficiency and ease of access.
By maintaining the open plan layout and exposing structural features, the site can readily accommodate a wide variety of commercial and retail tenants over time without the need for major internal refurbishment. Sacrificial internal walls and lightweight and removable partitions were used to allow for simple reconfiguration, increasing the precinct’s long-term adaptability. These features allow for future adaptation and easy reconfiguration of the space as tenant needs evolve, promoting longevity without repeated intrusive works.
Lighting, acoustics and ventilation systems were integrated unobtrusively to avoid competing with the heritage aesthetic, while still offering high spec environments for premium retailers.
Futureproofing infrastructure and services
Introducing modern amenities, such as HVAC systems, energy monitoring and fire compliance infrastructure, into a building never designed for them posed logistical and aesthetic challenges. To maintain the open warehouse feel, all new services were discreetly routed through concealed pathways, voids or fitted to existing gantries without damaging the original materials.
Pre-planning and collaborative BIM modelling allowed the design and construction teams to virtually test every system and service before work began. All building systems were planned with long term performance and serviceability in mind. Dedicated service corridors and risers allow for efficient upgrades without intrusive works to the heritage fabric.
The site also supports sustainable commuting with electric vehicle charging stations and abundant bike storage, aligning with future transport trends and reducing pressure on infrastructure.
Operational efficiency and monitoring
The precinct is equipped with energy and water monitoring systems, enabling Goodman to track and manage building performance over time. This data led management approach ensures that performance remains optimised and that the facilities team can identify and address inefficiencies quickly.
Urban design and public realm
Cohesive urban integration
The site occupies an entire city block at 115–151 Dunning Avenue and is bounded by four streets. Its master planning takes full advantage of this footprint, creating a permeable, walkable site that enhances local pedestrian movement and connects seamlessly with the neighbouring Cannery precinct – another successful adaptive reuse project. Wide internal corridors and activated street frontages invite public use and exploration.
Ground plane planning emphasises openness and visual connection, with long sightlines across the precinct. Retail frontages, art installations, landscaped forecourts and sheltered seating areas all contribute to a welcoming public realm that encourages social interaction, outdoor dining and community engagement.
Human scaled and user oriented design
Despite its industrial origins, the precinct feels distinctly human scaled. Careful modulation of volumes, the insertion of windows and breaks in façade rhythm reduce any sense of bulk. Generous pedestrian access, tactile materials, integrated seating and lighting tailored for comfort make the space intuitive, welcoming and safe for daily use.
By balancing form, function and feeling, Rosebery Engine Yards achieves architectural merit that is not only visually compelling but deeply grounded in place, memory and future-oriented urban living.
Landscape and urban greening strategy
Rather than simply landscaping the perimeter, a ‘rewilding’ concept developed with LandArt embraces the idea of nature reclaiming the built form. Climbing vegetation, curated microhabitats and soft landscaping will blend into the structure over time, allowing the building to “settle” into its ecological surroundings. This approach not only softens the visual transition between built and natural environments but also fosters biodiversity and improves thermal performance.
Public art, legacy and community engagement
Cultural elements were integrated into Rosebery Engine Yard’s sustainability narrative. A six metre high timber sculpture by artist Patrizia Biondi at the site’s entrance uses reclaimed timber from the original warehouse, offering a literal and symbolic embodiment of the building’s rebirth. The piece transforms construction waste into a centrepiece of community engagement and storytelling.
Culture and commerce can coexist
Beyond material metrics, adaptive reuse developments like this keep employment and working opportunities within residential neighbourhoods. We have purposefully retained the existing built fabric and worked with Goodman to maintain and intensify employment generation, creating a sustainable, walkable, 15 minute neighbourhood – a key planning pillar for a sustainable city.
What’s been most rewarding is seeing the precinct come alive, not just as a set of buildings, but as a community hub. Housing tenants like Lune Croissanterie, Aje and Gelato Messina, the project has proven that character rich buildings can support commercial viability, environmental performance and social engagement.
Rosebery Engine Yards doesn’t trade on nostalgia. It uses history as a platform for contemporary sustainability. And that, to me, is the future of our profession.
The Project Files tell the stories behind the architecture, design and business case of interesting sustainable projects. If you want to take part in this, send a note to editorial@thefifthestate.com.au
