Located on the corner of Livingstone Road and Chester Street the Beynon & Hayward warehouse is acknowledged as a local icon, characterised by its tough brick façade, painted signage and saw tooth roof.

The warehouse occupies the majority of a small tapering site with a narrow right of way to the north. Hill Thalis’ design proposed an addition responsive to the heritage to create two 6 storey blocks containing a total of 18 units bridged by a common timber landing in an open breezeway. A diversity of unit types, each with its own distinct character, were provided in the mix including; flat floor studios and 1 bedroom units, loft style 1 bed, and 2 storey 2 bedroom units.

Critically, the design preserved the existing brickwork with a setback from the brick wall line to create various balconies and pop outs that allowed a physical engagement with the heritage fabric. The sawtooth roofline was preserved in the new addition to maintain the character of the building, which internally created high lofted apartments.

The building mass reinforced the street corner through the shear solid brick wall that was extended vertically by a metal screen that appeared solid on approaching the building. Original brick openings had been reinstated with additional openings punched through the brickwork for access to two ground floor commercial tenancies and an open residential lobby. This lobby was bound by the original timber columns that in conjunction with: a terraced garden and grand timber stair above created a memorable homecoming experience.

Hill Thalis had no involvement in the subsequent amendments, documentation or construction of the project.