Roslyn Street Bar and Restaurant by Durbach Block.

I am so annoyed with myself for not posting about this building earlier. Perhaps it’s because I walk or drive past it every day that I dismissed it as blog worthy content until now. Here I am, singing praise to all manner of things around the world every day, and yet I’m forgetting my own back yard. Poor form.

Beautifully designed by Durbach Block Architects, this four storey commercial building in Sydney’s Potts Point accommodates a restaurant, a bar, offices and a rooftop garden. The material choice and building form respond directly to the site and the character of the neighbourhood. Building façade features both glossy and matte, white and buff mosaic tiles which reflect and refract the surroundings – the shape and pattern of the tiles remind me of Fed Square in Melbourne, but on a much smaller scale. Wedge-shape with a rounded end, the overall building form appears to have been pinched in at the top – a bit like Flatiron in New York mixed with Dancing House (aka Fred and Ginger) in Prague. But hey, what do I know, I’m just an interior designer!

Photography by Peter Bennetts.

What I do know though is that I really love this building. A lot. It is a beautiful little gem, a rare example of what is possible when a developer embraces their architects, and vice versa. Why can’t all new buildings be of this standard? What is it with all these mega average new buildings popping up around Sydney which permanently stain the fabric of our city. I’ve seriously had enough of short-sighted and/ or greedy developers without a vision (and architects who give into the dirty game of creating shit product which doesn’t benefit anyone, especially our cities). Ummm… sorry about that. What am I – a local politician? Ok, I’m getting off my soap box now.

Above photographs by Peter Bennetts and Anthony Browell.

By the way, this building has won the 2010 Australian Institute of Architects NSW Award for Commercial Architecture.