Porter House wins two categories at 2024 NSW Architecture Awards
The Porter House Hotel, a distinguished landmark in Sydney’s CBD, has garnered significant acclaim at the AIA Architecture Awards NSW 2024, receiving both the Greenway Award for Heritage and the NSW Award for Commercial Architecture.
These accolades recognize the building’s exceptional blend of heritage preservation and innovative commercial design, marking it as a standout project in Sydney’s architectural landscape.
The Porter House Hotel earned the NSW Award for Commercial Architecture for its innovative design that integrates a heritage-listed building within a modern architectural framework.
"The Porter House Hotel offers a moment of visual clarity that stands out from all angles despite its position deep within the CBD of Sydney," the jury noted.
"Encompassing the heritage-listed Porter House within its podium, the design creates a conversation between heritage and modernity; one which occurs at multiple scales from touchpoint to tower."
Candalepas Associates demonstrated "an adroit commercial acumen, deftly managing the interaction of multiple typologies."
"Design thinking and commerciality are combined to enable the project’s realization in a pragmatic and competitive landscape, all the while enabling heritage renewal and contributing to the evolving life of Sydney’s CBD."
A pivotal aspect of The Porter House Hotel’s design is its ability to invite the public into its precinct.
"Thoughtful planning invites the public into the precinct, where ground-level activation contributes to and draws on the vitality of the city to enhance the overall experience of both," remarked the jury. "Expressive facades encourage curiosity and invoke architectural heritage and nostalgia for an urban grace that appears nearly lost."
Regarding its recognition with the Greenway Award for Heritage, the jury stated that The Porter House Hotel "stands as a testament to meticulous heritage conservation and adaptive reuse."
Originally completed in 1883 as the ‘Dixson & Sons’ tobacco factory, the building has transitioned over the years, accommodating various businesses before its transformation into a contemporary hotel.
The Porter House building has now taken on a new life as the Porter House Hotel, a 122-room hotel with suites, private event and conference rooms, and hospitality venues.
"The existing timber structural frame has been faithfully exposed with sensitively detailed augmentations," noted the jury. "Reconstruction of the entry-level ground plane, reinstatement of the original bald face facade and liberation from non-original awnings ensures clear legibility of the complete heritage item from the public domain."
Unique hotel interventions and interior elements within The Porter House Hotel are choreographed as crafted elements, tuned in balance with the retained manufacturing building.
"A healthy dialogue is established between old and new, balanced and without overt subservience or dominance. Successful interpretive strategies to celebrate the site’s cultural richness include conservation and display of discovered artefacts, restored murals, and interpretive signage."
Adding to its prestige, The Porter House building is situated beneath Castle Residences, a contemporary development housing luxury apartments above, developed by United Development Sydney. This integration underscores the building’s role not only as a cultural landmark but also as a dynamic contributor to Sydney’s residential and commercial sectors.
