The winning Design Excellence proposal for 4–22 Wentworth Avenue, delivered in collaboration with Aileen Sage, transforms a collection of heritage-listed warehouses into a contemporary mixed-use precinct. Anchored by a slender mass timber tower rising from the warehouse podiums, the design fuses heritage character with high-performance environmental design.

Formerly known as Market Lane, the site has shifted through layers of history, from natural woodland to working-class housing, to a hub for textile manufacturing and automotive trades, and now a thriving creative precinct. This rich past is expressed through adaptive reuse, with original brickwork, timber structures, and public art woven throughout the site.

The scheme introduces a multi-storey landscaped atrium that links the buildings internally, enhancing connectivity across flexible commercial spaces. A unified Level 4 floor plate, dual lobbies, and centralised lift cores provide adaptable configurations for tenants. Architectural interventions differentiate each warehouse: a prism-shaped tower at 4–6, a new entry atrium at No. 8, a classical pediment at No. 10–12, a sunken garden at No. 14, and a glazed brick portico at 16–22.

CLT and glulam construction significantly reduce embodied carbon, while high-performance façades and natural ventilation enhance operational efficiency. Endemic planting in vertical gardens, rooftop spaces, and bio-solar roofs reintroduce landscape to the urban environment, re-establishing a connection to Country.

Wentworth Avenue will become a bold civic marker for Surry Hills, where heritage is reinterpreted through intelligent design and a commitment to future-focused urban renewal.