King St Court House New Entry

The King Street court complex is located on the corner of King and Elizabeth streets Sydney and comprises of three major heritage listed buildings; Sydney Supreme Court House (Old Court House), the Old Registry office Sydney Supreme Court house and the Banco Courthouse, designed by Barnet and Vernon. The three buildings occupy an L shaped site that frames and neighbours the historic St James Anglican Church, designed by Francis Greenway.

The challenges for our design team were to provide a contemporary building, while respecting the highly visible and sensitive location. The solution for the proposed addition to the eastern side of the Court House (entry “C”) is a low scale, relatively lightweight, recessive, and contemporary element that does not seek to mimic or detract from the Court or neighbouring Church buildings in order to provide a strong relationship to its surroundings. This contemporary interpretation of the façade consists of reflective colour back glass panels which reflect the nearby architecture, and it imitates the heritage precinct and integrates with its surroundings with the reflected elevations.

Adverse heritage impacts were mitigated by the retention and improvement of the existing surroundings in terms of the overall form, height, scale and colour scheme based on the research and interpretation of the building history and fabric previously established.

“These security upgrades will ensure the building continues to make history as a suitable facility for trials and other hearings” –
Attorney General Mark Speakman