Sydney-based practice Common Office has unveiled its renovation of the Mizrachi Synagogue in Bondi, an intervention that balances the needs of a growing congregation with a sensitive approach to the shul’s mid‑century architectural heritage.

Built in 1973, the building had since undergone a series of renovations. Although the light‑filled space continued to serve as a place of reflection and gathering, the accumulation of ad‑hoc alterations had steadily eroded its suitability for the synagogue’s social, cultural, and religious programs.

To rectify this, Common Office proposed a scheme that strips the building back to its essential form and neutral palette, creating a calm and generous backdrop for community life.

According to Common Office Director Rob Meyerson a sense of continuity was a central concern of the design team.

Noting the building’s status as “a place of solace for generations of congregants”, he asked, “How, through design, does one commemorate the past and look to the future?”

That question is answered through a series of material gestures that clarify the main sanctuary’s original geometry and bring coherence to the surrounding spaces. For example, Interior brickwork has been treated with a fresh white render, and the damaged wood of the Aron (ark) has been replaced with a lightly textured white wall.

The design also looks ahead to how the synagogue will serve those who gather there in the years to come. The men’s and women’s galleries, on the sanctuary’s ground and first floors, have been reconfigured for increased capacity and improved access, while the heavy wooden benches have given way to a matching suite of blue upholstered seats, bringing the women’s to parity with the men’s so that both share the same dignity.

Common Office’s design also accommodates a reworked basement level that hosts communal functions and celebrations alongside dedicated children’s spaces, while a refreshed single-height entrance foyer functions as a contemplative threshold between the Bondi streetscape and the shul. This careful renewal honours the synagogue’s shared heritage and collective future.

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