Redfern Warehouse by Ian Moore Architects

Ian Moore Architects have transformed an industrial warehouse in a heritage conservation area of East Redfern into a contemporary four-bedroom family home. The two-storey brick building has been through many iterations, once a Vegemite factory and then in the ‘90s, an art gallery and architect’s office. The new home is also rather multi-purpose, comprising self-contained guest accommodation, a home office with an equine genetics laboratory, and an expansive garage with purpose-built storage for a collection of classic sports cars.

The architects left the exterior almost untouched, adding only a few new windows into existing openings. Internally, original brick walls were exposed and large timber roof trusses highlighted, painted white. Maintaining an industrial feel was paramount throughout the renovation, with the owners requesting there be no timber, marble, or black finishes used.

“New work is complementary but clearly distinguished from original fabric through a rigorous application of the concept of retention, recycling and reinforcing the original form and spatial qualities of the warehouse,” explains Ian Moore.

Refined and contemporary new elements contrast with and complement original features, avoiding any nostalgic or sentimental reinventions of a warehouse aesthetic. The prominent trusses dictate the new additions, such as metal elements shaped to mirror them, framing glass facades. The glass creates bright, open interiors, with dividing walls stopping at the base of the trusses, clear glazing above allowing visual continuity throughout the space. A section of the roof was removed to form a large outdoor terrace, featuring real grass for the family dog.

“The upper level is divided on strict alignment with the existing trusses, with the bottom chord of the trusses used as a horizontal datum,” says Moore.

Half of the lower level contains the car garage, while the remaining half was divided between the laboratory, guest suite, entry hall and a large internal courtyard, which the upper living spaces look down onto. The courtyard is accessed via the half landing of a new steel stairway and is surrounded by an off-form concrete wall, containing a lap pool and garden beds. Moveable glass louvres surround the courtyard, providing shade and natural ventilation.

Material and furniture choices provide comfort, low maintenance and colour to enliven the space, including red dining chairs and an orange sofa. Finishes consist of coloured cork flooring, colour-matched ceramic tiles in the bathrooms and laundry, perforated corrugated steel acoustic ceilings, and Dekton benchtops. The futuristic laboratory features Corian surfaces on all workstations and benches.