Surry Hills Village
Surry Hills
Gadi Country
The Brief
Surry Hills Village reimagines a fragmented inner-city site as a connected, mixed-use precinct grounded in public life, heritage continuity and permeability.
Once occupied by an inward-looking 1960s shopping centre, the site was physically disconnected and socially underperforming. The ambition was to restore connectivity between Baptist and Marriott Streets, introduce meaningful public space, and deliver a diverse mix of residential, retail, commercial and hospitality uses — all at a fine-grain scale that respects the surrounding terraces.
Central to the brief was the adaptive reuse of the heritage-listed Bank of NSW building (1867), alongside a contemporary response to the site’s Wunderlich Factory past.
Delivered through a Design Excellence Competition, the project required a highly collaborative, design-led approach by SJB, Studio Prineas & Aspect Studios.
The Result
A new model for inner-city renewal — balancing density with delicacy.
Wunderlich Lane forms the project’s spine, reconnecting Baptist and Marriott Streets and drawing life inward to a pedestrian-first network of retail, hospitality and public space. This shift protects the heritage edge while activating the interior.
Studio Prineas’ adaptive reuse of the Bank of NSW building anchors the precinct, while a bold manor-red addition reinterprets its industrial past — continuity without pastiche.
The Feeling
What was once avoided is now instinctively entered.
A village — layered, lived-in, and made for everyday life.
Crafted continuity
Respectful rebellion
Density & delicacy
Photography Tom Roe
'What’s interesting about Surry Hills and Redfern is its edges. It touches the city, parkland and Oxford Street, so you get real diversity in the urban grain. That’s why placemaking and authenticity are crucial in creating a truly mixed-use destination, home and neighbourhood like this.'
Eva-Marie Prineas
