Heritage

Partridge, in collaboration with Archer Office and Waverley Council, was involved in the revitalisation of The Boot Factory in Bondi Junction. The iconic 1892 heritage-listed building, once a shoe-making factory, has been standing vacant since 2007 after being saved from demolition by community efforts. The transformation into a civic innovation hub integrates the Mill Hill Community Centre via a new passageway with a lift, enhancing the Norman Lee Place courtyard, and new café at Spring Street. The vaulted roof is the showpiece, consisting of of 52 tapering glulam beams supported off a perimeter concrete ring beam at the base, with a steel ring beam above framing a 2.4m x 3.6m skylight. The Mill Hill Centre gains a new terrace roof, sliding doors, and landscaping improvements. A steel and timber deck has been designed to respect the root system of the adjacent tree.

Sydney Living Museums has undertaken the first comprehensive conservation works to the heavily deteriorated palisade fence surrounding the 1870s resting place of William Charles Wentworth. The fence was removed and stored in three-meter sections and numbered (to ensure reinstallation in the correct location after conservation works are completed) and taken to the metal workshop where they were treated and repaired. The fence design is quite intricate with a number of geometrical details that have rusted and decayed throughout the years. Only the elements that were beyond repair were to be replaced, an arduous task requiring much care and consideration. The removal of the fence also allowed for the closer inspection to the stonework below, which showed the extent of deterioration caused by the rusted fence posts and tree roots. All three courses of stonework were removed from site and taken to the stonemason’s workshop to be either be repaired, or in the case of heavily cracked copping stones, replaced – about eighty items in total. Partridge have installed screw pile footings for the new front wall to avoid harming the root system of existing trees on the site – an important part of the site’s heritage. In consideration of both the environment and practical aspects of construction, Partridge also improved the site’s drainage to prevent issues with water pooling or flooding in the future..

Partridge was appointed by the Owners’ Corporation to act as the Superintendent and Project Managers for a remedial project in Chippendale, NSW. The project involved converting a heritage building, originally a warehouse from the 1890s, into residential units. One of the critical aspects addressed by our team was the stabilisation of the building’s foundation. We ensured the successful conversion of the building while preserving the historical significance of the structure and providing safe and comfortable residential spaces for the occupants.

View More Projects

Boot Factory

Boot Factory

Wentworth Mausoleum

Wentworth Mausoleum

Chippendale Apartments III

Chippendale Apartments III

The Burcham

The Burcham

Waddell Cottage

Waddell Cottage

Mosman Seawall

Mosman Seawall