The Astor Apartment | Madeleine Blanchfield Architects

The apartment renovation is in The Astor, a 13 storey apartment building on Macquarie Street in Sydney City. Built in the early 1920’s, The Astor is a State Heritage item constructed in the Interwar Free Classical Style. Designed by Esplin and Mould, it was one of the first prestige apartment buildings in Sydney and includes a reinforced concrete frame and steel windows.

The brief was to update the layout of the apartment, maximise appreciation of the existing heritage features and incredible views. The existing apartment had a tiny, separate kitchen, old bathroom and some dubious tinkering had been done over the years. 

We stripped out the shell, opened up the kitchen, re-did the bathroom and squeezed in a discreet laundry. We created an entry foyer with a gentle curve and put sheer curtains with inbuilt lighting troughs throughout, restored elements such as skirtings which had been replaced over the years and incorporated feature lights, built in joinery and rugs. We also selected all new furniture. 

The existing concrete frame - including the structural concrete ceiling - made the alterations and lighting difficult. We were not able to make large structural changes and the ones we did make had to be done carefully and with heritage sensitivity. 

We stained the existing timber floor and painted the walls white. Kitchen joinery is subtle and we managed to fit an incredible amount into a very tiny space. The furniture is eclectic but each piece is a refined example of exceptional design. The lounge room incorporates pieces such as a Saarinen table, Carl Hansen chairs and daybed and Henry Timi timber chairs. 

The existing apartment building and the shell we had to work with are beautiful and unique. The pared back concrete detailing and steel windows of the interior include curved wall: ceiling junctions and window sills. 

The steel windows have vistas to the opera house and also more unexpected views onto to the coper roof of the proximate Chief Secretary's Building. We wanted to allow these elements to shine and not compete with them.

All photography: Anson Smart, https://ansonsmart.com