Goodhope in Paddington by Those Architects

Those Archtects Goodhope Office Sydney Commercial Design Photo Luc Remond Yellowtrace 09

Those Archtects Goodhope Office Sydney Commercial Design Photo Luc Remond Yellowtrace 08

Those Archtects Goodhope Office Sydney Commercial Design Photo Luc Remond Yellowtrace 16

Those Archtects Goodhope Office Sydney Commercial Design Photo Luc Remond Yellowtrace 13

On Goodhope Street in Sydney stands the aptly named gallery-commercial-creative space Goodhope. It’s hard to imagine that what goes beyond the classical façades (one of a 1940s garage and a 1960s commercial building) were once two separate areas, quietly stitched together to become one harmonious unit. Through clever use of materials and detailed planning, Those Architects carefully weaves in new changes, while thoroughly keeping traces of the gallery’s original spirit—continuously empowering the new beginnings of the art gallery.

Commissioned by the Sherman family, founders of Sherman Contemporary Art Foundation (SCAF), Goodhope is an amalgamation of the SCAF’s head offices and other family businesses with Seasaw Film Productions as their main tenant. Already a space that once served as a space for SCAF’s colourful events and functions, it was up to Those to impart another creative layer to the gallery’s narrative.

Though both frontages of the buildings bear no heritage listing, planning restrictions gave direction to the design strategy for Goodhope. Both street-facing facades were given a white paint revival, however, each was preserved in different manners—“The 1940’s building envelope and structure was conserved in its entirety, from its concrete floors to brick walls and hardwood roof bearers. The neighbouring 1960s building was gutted and redrawn over two levels,” explains Those Architects Director, Ben Mitchell.

Those Archtects Goodhope Office Sydney Commercial Design Photo Luc Remond Yellowtrace 05

Those Archtects Goodhope Office Sydney Commercial Design Photo Luc Remond Yellowtrace 04

Those Archtects Goodhope Office Sydney Commercial Design Photo Luc Remond Yellowtrace 14

From the shared courtyard entered at the rear, Goodhope is dressed in a new skin of handmade bricks by Krause. The bespoke bricks are a subtly daring departure from the smooth-over façade on the neighbouring houses in Paddington, giving a different language and texture to the meaning of new. Jagged shapes also soften the rigidity often associated with a gallery’s clean lines, carefully coordinating with the surrounding greenery to camouflage.

Inside Goodhope’s 700 square metres, a suite of fifteen offices is introduced within a shell to hint at the relationship between new and existing. Meanwhile, the two new stories in the gutted building provide additional office spaces, breakout areas, and amenities. Each space is privy to natural lighting captured by the north-facing central courtyard, be it through the skylights, high windows, or the periscopic window extrusion into the courtyard. Breakout spaces are fitted with sliding doors, carefully melting the blurred external and internal atmosphere whenever desired.

Those Archtects Goodhope Office Sydney Commercial Design Photo Luc Remond Yellowtrace 21

Those Archtects Goodhope Office Sydney Commercial Design Photo Luc Remond Yellowtrace 19

Despite the gentleness of the shades selected, the selection of Victorian Ash used for the flooring, frames and bespoke furniture exudes small shocks of warmth within. There’s no competition for the hero material, rather it is the linearity gesture of lines that conjures a moving rhythm. Lines are emphasised by the curving surface on the masonry, traced by the mortar in the bricks, formed by the floorboards, and found in custom timber furniture. In essence, a moving line that foresees optimism ahead.

Reaching ten years of architecture practice (and counting!), Goodhope is a lovely celebration of Those Architects’ creative pusuits. Quietly grand in its own right and with a lovely name to encapsulate the characteristic of its design and trajectory, sometimes a new start doesn’t necessarily mean a restart but rather a refresh and tweaks that allow for new beginnings.