Crossroads Marrickville is the Commercial Architecture - Small winner of the Sustainability Awards 2025, sponsored by DuraCube.

The development has increased the density on its site The submission celebrates the integration of contemporary architecture with strong sustainability principles and an appreciation for the building’s layered history.

The design retains and restores the original masonry structure, showcasing how adaptive reuse can deliver rich environmental, cultural, and aesthetic outcomes.

New additions were constructed using lightweight timber framing and sustainably sourced materials, including FSC-certified plywoods, recycled hardwoods, Accoya timber windows and cladding, and low-carbon Envisia concrete.

Rooftop PV panels and passive design strategies contribute to the building’s ongoing energy efficiency. Throughout, the project expresses materials honestly, exposing timber structures, highlighting recycled finishes, and using low-toxicity coatings and natural lime wash.

The result is a warm, textured, and highly functional building that demonstrates how sustainable performance can be achieved through both material selection and design intent.

The project’s holistic sustainability approach is at the core of the build, from construction and material use to its long-term performance and contribution to the urban fabric.

Achieving the sustainability goals for this project involved overcoming several site-specific, regulatory, and design challenges. Firstly, the adaptive re-use of a dilapidated 1890s building without heritage listing required careful structural assessment and restoration strategies to preserve existing fabric while upgrading performance.

Reusing original bricks, incorporating recycled materials, and managing demolition waste required additional coordination and sourcing of compatible materials, such as matching recycled bricks from various Inner West sites.

The flood zone location of the ground floor imposed material constraints, necessitating masonry and concrete construction. To align this with sustainability goals, recycled bricks were sourced and specified Invisia Low CO₂ concrete, both less commonly used materials requiring supplier coordination.

Balancing the use of new sustainable materials, such as Accoya, FSC-certified timbers, LVL, and plywood, while ensuring durability, lifecycle performance, and visual cohesion across residential and commercial components, also presented challenges, particularly in achieving aesthetic goals using standard sizes and zero-VOC finishes.

Maintaining a low-carbon footprint while increasing site density required innovative lightweight timber construction, and integrating solar PV, passive daylighting, and reused joinery, all within tight urban constraints, further tested the design and construction team’s resolve and creativity.

Dissections

Finishes: Boral (Envisia), Resene, Recycled Bricks, Accoya, Blackbutt

Fittings & Fixtures: Caroma, Parisi, Abey, Faucet Stommen, Nood Co

Furniture: Herman Miller, Tessa, Make Projects, Eva, Fenton & Fenton, Joinery Co. Australia

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