Preserving the past for the future

TTW's expertise in both structural and heritage engineering was a critical consideration for the developers of an exciting new luxury hotel, which involves the adaptation of two prominent, Government owned sandstone buildings in Sydney's "Sandstone Precinct" on Bridge Street; the Lands and Education Department Buildings. Constructed between c1876-1892 and c1912-1930 respectively, both buildings are listed on the State Heritage Register. The project involves extensive renovations to deliver a 6-Star luxury hotel.

The building's complexities necessitated critical input from TTW's heritage engineering specialists, contributing their in-depth knowledge and understanding of historical construction and materials conservation.

The former Education Department building was transformed into the luxurious Capella Hotels and Resorts by the Pontiac Land Group.  Now complete, the impressive 192-guest room hotel features opulent spa facilities, 20-meter indoor pool, event spaces, world-class dining and an internal courtyard retreat from the bustling city outside.
We are proud to have safeguarded the future of this unique building through our work to conserve the heritage façade and ensuring structural integrity of the elegant four-level vertical expansion.

The pool at level 5 presented the challenge of ensuring that the existing structure is isolated from the pool to reduce vibration, and the pool's weight supported, to prevent any damage to the heritage fabric of the structure.

The Lands Building features four main levels with clock tower and roof dome above. A new tunnel links both buildings below street level.

Our Heritage and Façade teams collaborated to provide full documentation for the conservation of external building fabric, including sandstone, trachyte and brick masonry, lead, slate and copper roofs, stuccowork, clinker concrete, seismic strengthening, cast iron, steel and timber windows, and glazed pavement lights.

Our Construction Engineers provided full support on both temporary and permanent works on site and were on-site to help the contractor with structural rectification requirements. We also provided significant changes to input on the design and construction sequences to better suit the project requirements.

Client: Pontiac Land Group

Architect: Make - Architectural Design & Webber - Documentation Architects

Builder: Built

Value: $320M

Completion: 2023

Sector: Hotels & Resorts

Services: Heritage, Construction Engineering, Structural, Civil, Facade