A pair of former navy warehouses in Sydney’s Pyrmont will be transformed into a new workplace for multi-national tech giant Google.
The Royal Edward Victualling Yard (REVY) is state heritage listed for its significance as the first navy yard in the Southern Hemisphere. The buildings on the site were all designed by NSW government architect Walter Liberty Vernon between 1890 and 1911.
Google’s redevelopment project, designed by Warren and Mahoney, will see REVY buildings A and B restored to their original condition, with new interior elements “carefully placed” within them to create a contemporary workplace.
A new addition, dubbed “the vessel” will be inserted between the heritage buildings, connecting all three parts. “[The vessel] acknowledges the narrative opportunity within the layers of history on the site – both Indigenous and naval,” Warren and Mahoney said in a design statement.
Google REVY by Warren and Mahoney
“The distinctive sculptural and fluid form draws a strong contrast with the rigid, orthogonal and static presence of the brick heritage facades. We have sculpted the floorplate corners and pulled the floorplates away from the REVY to enhance the contrast and expose the relationship between the two parts.”
Workplaces on level one of the new addition will be connected to the workplaces in the existing buildings via bridges while the ground floor of this building will be allocated to a café.
Along the Darling Road side of REVY, two “pavilions” will be created at the north and south to house spaces for external and internal presentations and building services respectively.
“Both of these pavilions have been sunk into the ground as much as possible in order to reduce their visual obstruction on the existing Heritage building,” Warren and Mahoney said.
The project will expand Google’s campus at Pyrmont, which is currently spread across three other sites.
Source: Architecture - architectureau
