{"id":908295,"date":"2026-09-28T07:22:18","date_gmt":"2026-09-28T07:22:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/908295\/"},"modified":"2026-09-28T07:22:18","modified_gmt":"2026-09-28T07:22:18","slug":"33-alfred-street-inside-the-200-million-restoration-of-sydneys-first-skyscraper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/908295\/","title":{"rendered":"33 Alfred Street: Inside the $200 million restoration of Sydney\u2019s first skyscraper"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Julie<\/p>\n

September 28, 2026 \u2014 11:30am<\/p>\n

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Double the height of any other block, and the first skyscraper to break the city\u2019s height limit, the AMP building at 33 Alfred Street landed among the old shopfronts and Victorian terraces nearby like a supersized alien.<\/p>\n

Because the building was the tallest office tower in Sydney in 1962, at 117 metres, its rooftop terrace in Circular Quay drew tourists and school groups who oohed and aahed at the marvel from as far as the Kurnell sandhills.<\/p>\n

The views looking out from the inside, though, were a bit more argh than ooh.<\/p>\n

\"WhatWhat landeth here? The AMP Building at 33 Alfred Street was completed in 1962. At 117 metres tall, it was Sydney\u2019s first skyscraper to break the city\u2019s 1912 height limit of 150 feet (46 metres). This photo from the City of Sydney Archives shows just how different it was from the other city buildings nearby. City of Sydney<\/p>\n

\u201cIt had the best views in Sydney but the smallest windows,\u201d said architect Matthew Morel, a director of JPW, who worked on the $200 million and 12-year restoration and modernisation project.<\/p>\n

The tartan-patterned curtain-glass walls, which featured opaque panels sprinkled with silver and real gold leaf that sparkled in the light, restricted the view from the inside out.<\/p>\n

Only someone standing right next to the windows could see \u201cthe full drama of Sydney Harbour in front of them\u201d, Morel said.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe old design versus the new design of the curtain walls at the AMP building at 33 Alfred Street, Circular Quay. The old windows made it hard to see out. JPW<\/p>\n

The update of the heritage-listed office block included modernising the building\u2019s interiors, replacing the low ceilings, preserving the original marble, restoring mosaic tiles where possible, replacing tiles on the north and south walls that had fallen off, and reinstating the laneway between the two wings of the International-style block.<\/p>\n

The hardest part, though, was designing a new curtain wall that had the same heritage feel, yet provided more light and the better views expected by today\u2019s tenants, including law firms Allens and Lander & Rogers.<\/p>\n

Some floors lease for as much as $1850 a square metre, The Australian Financial Review<\/a> reported last year.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

From the outside, few members of the public notice the changes to the building that are obvious to the tenants. Now completed, the only access to the viewing platform and terraces is by invitation.<\/p>\n

When the scaffold was removed in late 2024-25, some onlookers asked if the windows had been cleaned.<\/p>\n

And the owners were asked if they had reinstated the old curtain window. They hadn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

This is a win. \u201cFrom a heritage point of view, it is exactly the response we wanted,\u201d Morel said.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Anne-Louise Fleming, senior development manager of the building\u2019s co-owner, Dexus, said: \u201cIt had been our guiding principle that if people left Sydney for a period of construction, and then came back, would they notice?\u201d<\/p>\n

Since it reopened a year ago, the restoration has been noticed in awards, including the international architecture award from Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design, NSW Architecture Award for heritage, the Council for Vertical Urbanism\u2019s gong for repositioning, and, now shortlisted for global retrofit at the World Architecture Festival in November.<\/p>\n

The adaptive reuse of the 62-year-old building has also been recognised for excellence in sustainability: retaining the building halved the embodied carbon.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

In 1962, its original architect, Graham Thorp of Peddle Thorp and Walker, wrote that the shape of the new building had not been seen anywhere in the world.<\/p>\n

He said, \u201cIt is a significant form springing from the site and the natural development of planning.\u201d<\/p>\n

It is not too far removed from Coco Chanel\u2019s blingy logo, with its bendy H shape.<\/p>\n

Morel said the design had been a very deliberate, innovative strategy by Peddle Thorp and Walker to bring daylight and views into everyday work life. Even today, he had yet to discover another building like it.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe outdoor terrace at the AMP building at 33 Alfred Street. This area is leased by Lander & Rogers, a law firm, with interior design by Bates Smart.Anson Smart for Bates Smart\"SomeSome of the original mosaic abstract tile work by Michael Santry was rescued and repurposed at 33 Alfred Street, Sydney. Bates Smart and Anson Smart. <\/p>\n

The restoration of the international-style office buildings had few precedents. JPW and engineers turned to historians, academics, engineers, extensive research, sampling and prototyping.<\/p>\n

It was only when the owners, architects and the City of Sydney were looking at a prototype of the new version of the curtain walls someone had an \u201cAha!\u201d moment and suggested the ultimate fix. Turn the pattern upside down to provide more light and views.<\/p>\n

On the fifth and sixth floors where the AMP cafeteria served a full lunch to its uniformed staff, tenants Lander & Rogers are using the best-in-class food and beverage and the views from the terrace to woo new clients and staff.<\/p>\n

Its foyer includes some of the original mosaic that once clad large parts of the building\u2019s lift foyers.<\/p>\n

\"BrentonBrenton Smith, interior design director of Bates Smart\u2019s architectural practice in Sydney, has redesigned three offices for law firms in the newly updated AMP building at 33 Alfred Street. The light-coloured furniture is a sign of confidence, and the views, food and beverage are important to wooing new clients and potential employees. Wolter Peeters<\/p>\n

Bates Smart director of interior design Brenton Smith said Lander & Rogers\u2019 offices are the only two with outdoor areas apart from the rooftop leased by Allens. \u201cYou can almost touch the bridge. It\u2019s pretty spectacular,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n

Bates Smart did the interior design for three law firms at the building, now known by its address 33 Alfred, including Lander & Rogers. \u201cAll were very hospitality-focused in front-of-house space,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n

Lounge chairs are covered in a light fabric. \u201cI always reckon the lighter the fabric, the more luxurious it feels because you have to get them cleaned more often,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n

The block, 33 Alfred Street, is co-owned by Dexus Wholesale Property Fund and Mirvac Wholesale Office Fund.<\/p>\n

Start the day with a summary of the day\u2019s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\"JulieJulie Power<\/a> is a senior reporter at The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"September 28, 2026 \u2014 11:30am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":908296,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[449,458,459,64,63,460,134],"class_list":["post-908295","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-design","tag-entertainment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/908295","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=908295"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/908295\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/908296"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=908295"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=908295"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=908295"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}