Heritage

Partridge played a crucial role in conserving Sydney Mint’s historic verandah, built between 1811 and 1816. Originally part of the Rum Hospital, it later housed the Sydney Branch of the Royal Mint. As Sydney’s oldest public building, its preservation is paramount. The restoration focused on the deteriorating sandstone and timber elements. The first stage, finished in October 2023, addressed structural issues, replacing damaged timber columns, joists, and beams. Seismic strengthening tied ground floor columns to the verandah structure. Repairing the intricate chinoiserie lattice balustrade and improving drainage were key. New fascia, floorboards, and soffits were installed, matching historical integrity. The effort aimed to maintain the verandah’s historical significance while ensuring its structural integrity for the future.

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..

View More Projects

The Sydney Mint

The Sydney Mint

Bellevue Hill House

Bellevue Hill House

Hearth Dome

Hearth Dome

Boot Factory

Boot Factory

Bronte Sisters

Bronte Sisters

Crown St Terrace

Crown St Terrace

Millers Point Townhouse

Millers Point Townhouse

Glebe Castle

Glebe Castle

Upper Hunter Innovation Centre

Upper Hunter Innovation Centre

Wentworth Mausoleum

Wentworth Mausoleum

Winged Victory

Winged Victory

Corrimal Coke Works

Corrimal Coke Works