This project envelopes a site containing an aggregation of buildings which have distinct variance in height, materiality and form.

Each building is periodised by its architectural style and stylistic detail. The assembly of new built forms contribute to, and recall the aggregated set of building types which exist in-situ.

Among these is a 12–storey commercial office building. The site was, and will continue to be, a fully functioning Telephone Exchange. This is extremely technically challenging, as the operational exchange is a maze of complexly layered infrastructure.

A new laneway connects Wellington to Northumberland streets, an extension of Derby Street – “Little Derby Street” as it were. This intervention is a part of the revitalization strategy of what would otherwise be an inactive site. A laneway is made possible by setting the primary building back from Wellington Street in the order of 20 metres. The south west corner of the site is held by the lower scale Companion Building which in turn frames the lane way and figures it within the site.

The laneway is a considered urban response: so many smaller sites within the area have been and are continually consolidated into larger parcels and the fine grain of the area is being eroded. This development introduces a new laneway, which is another reference back to the original scale of the area.