Gilded Transformation

The Revy (The Royal Edward Victualling Yard) in Sydney’s Pyrmont was originally designed by Government Architect Walter Liberty Vernon in 1912 and had served the Royal Australian Navy for close to 100 years. As such the approach required respect for this measured, majestic building alongside a level of ingenuity to retain the character of the building while providing a series of luxurious living spaces as befitted The Revy’s prime waterside location.

The opportunity to journey into the past, to discover what resonates with the present, and the interpretation of those signals from a bygone era, applied in a contemporary way, is Blainey’s forte.

This was a place where precision and measurement mattered, where craftsmanship and detailing were explored in the context of the highly functional and the mechanical. It is a masculine, robust building with architectural gravitas and Blainey’s job was to celebrate that aspectwhile imbuing it with a sophisticated, contemporary feel.

The concept that evolved was the notion of a contemporary box within the existing structure, allowing history its place in this new incarnation—a sense of ‘almost touching’—that celebrates something of the magic of that space between the old and the new.