Alexandria Industrial Estate Adaptive Reuse


Sawtooth Solution

Alexandria Industrial Estate is situated in a suburb undergoing a significant transformation from industrial to mixed use with the proposed Green Square Civic Center at its heart.

The existing six-hectare site is filled with an architecturally diverse range of industrial warehouse buildings. The building on the corner of Bourke Road and Huntley Street has a simple dark brick facade with a sawtooth roof profile. With the brief to transform this building into retail and showroom spaces on the ground floor and commercial suites above, another storey was required, effectively doubling the floorspace.

The addition is built on top of the sawtooth profile to maintain this feature of the original building. A different material is proposed such a lightweight translucent polycarbonate sheet.

The new facade allows plentiful light into the offices. The profile of the two distinct materials coming together retains the original roof profile in a graphic sense and resembles huge jaws running the length of the facade.

Location: Alexandria, Sydney NSW, Australia 33°54’33.86″S, 151°11’41.12″E
Date: 2010
Design team: David Stevenson, Thierry Lacoste, Jonathan Capperlleri, Angela Rowson, Max Zheng
Photography / images: Lacoste+Stevenson Architects