Quietly transformed despite never being too far from newspaper columns, BVN’s masterful redesign of the infamous Sirius building will see decades-long debates potentially reach their end.

The $150 million project will see 79 public housing residences reinvigorated into 75 high-end apartments. The penthouse alone is valued at a cool $50 million. Richard Crookes Construction is overseeing the building’s physical transformation, and says that no two apartments are the same. The project is incredibly intricate.

Plans for the reinvigoration were put in motion following the $150 million sale of the Tao Gofers-designed building to developer JDH Capital in 2019. BVN won a design competition that followed the acquisition, promising to add concrete pods wrapped in copper, creating a timeless facade.

The original concrete and form has been maintained, with gardens replanted and a nearby park to be refreshed. The sheer complexity of the project – the different layouts, assorted floorplates and precast concrete facade – made for a design response BVN regards as fun.

“We saw that the Sirius had a rich history. We couldn’t have an impact on what had happened, but we could help save the building and tell its story going forward, that it was a building before our copper boxes were added,” says BVN Principal Phillip Rossington in an interview with The Sydney Morning Herald.

“What’s the point of keeping the building if you add curvy balconies to it and paint it a shiny gleaming white? You may as well as (knock it down) because you have taken away its Brutalist character. We felt that we could assist in saving the building, and show the building and the site’s history.”

BVN have increased the floor area to 8,316 sqm up from 6,538, with the original ceiling heights maintained for the most part. Separate kitchens and living rooms feature throughout, while each bathroom and window is unique to the residence.

Former Save Our Sirius campaign leader, Carter Williamson’s Shaun Carter, has mixed feelings on the building’s overhaul.

“We stopped it from being razed. We always argued that you either love Sirius or hate Sirius, but you cannot deny it's a cultural vessel.

“People will point to it, and say that it used to be the best public housing in Sydney. And now it’s the most expensive housing in Sydney. And that is a diametrically juxtaposed position.”

The new Sirius has mostly launched to market and has nearly sold out. Eight apartments ranging between two and three bedrooms are due to go on sale in the coming weeks, ranging between $1.5-3 million.

Image: Richard Crookes Constructions.

Jarrod Reedie

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