The heritage-listed South Eveleigh Locomotive Workshop has been thoughtfully repurposed by Buchan to become a new mixed-use commercial and community precinct that honours the site’s rich history.

Featuring large public and exhibition spaces, a specialty grocer, eateries, gym and education facilities, and the original blacksmith forge, the former Workshop is steeped in history. The Workshop opened in 1887 for the maintenance, and later manufacturing, of steam locomotives. As such, it required a highly sensitive approach to its adaptive re-use.

Buchan was sought after by Mirvac to undertake the project. The practice liaised with architects Sissons and heritage specialists Curio Projects to ensure the integrity of the building’s heritage features. Exposing many of the original elements and reusing many existing materials such as the timber beams and the original dirt floors used in wall setbacks.

“It’s unusual to visit a commercial venue that’s been made interactive and engaging through texture, visuals and even smell (from the blacksmith’s forge),” Michael says. “We’ve thought about how each and every element of the building’s layout can be used to encourage people to meander, stop, meet and shop,” says Buchan Senior Interior Designer, Michael Curtis.

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The building is likened by Buchan as a canvas, depicting the living history of the Workshop, Buchan sought to immerse visitors in the past, with projections of silhouette ghosts, curiosity cabinets containing original artefacts and replays of original sounds and voice giving the building a distinctive feel not replicated anywhere else.

“We wanted the artefacts and history to be universally engaging — not to merely mimic a traditional museum experience,” says Buchan Senior Designer Patrick Shirley.

A travelator takes visitors on a physical storytelling journey, with visions of the site’s history and stories from the Gadigal people viewed as they move through the tunnel. A Davy pressure pump, the largest in the Southern Hemisphere, furthers the feeling of nostalgia throughout.

“We’ve projected footage of the Davy pump in action creating steel railway tracks, onto the pump itself, complete with noise and simulated smoke,” says Shirley.

“This creates an incredible atmosphere as well as showing visitors the skills needed to operate the press.”

The brief provided from Mirvac to Buchan asked for an appealing and engaging retail and office precinct amongst an immersive experience that tells the stories of the site and its significance in Australian history. Head of Mirvac’s Integrated Investment Portfolio, Campbell Hanan, says the precinct’s former life as the home of Sydney’s thriving economy in the 19th century gives it an unmatched historical context.

“Mirvac’s vision was to celebrate the site’s unique heritage, connecting its history and the stories of the people who once worked and lived here with the thousands of modern-day South Eveleigh workers and visitors today,” he said. “Buchan has done a great job, bringing this vision to life through incredible design that celebrates the industrial appeal of the original Locomotive Workshed, creating new ways for everyone to appreciate the fascinating 1800’s era architecture.”

The Locomotive Workshop will open to the public later this year.

Jarrod Reedie

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