Create NSW, Metcalfe Bond Stores
Adapted for modern uses, these heritage-listed warehouses still preserve their original structure and mercantile character
10am–4pm
About the building
Located on a site that was once a major quarry supplying stone for early Sydney structures, the Metcalfe Bond Stores contributes significantly to the historic mercantile character of the Rocks precinct.
Constructed between 1912 and 1916, the Metcalfe Bond Stores comprises two heritage-listed warehouses with red-brick facades and timber post-and-beam interiors that exemplify Federation Warehouse architecture. They were originally used for bonded storage and named after merchant Michael Metcalfe, a founder of the Australasian Steam Navigation Company.
The warehouses were among the first in Sydney to be adaptively reused in the 1970s, converted into shops, galleries, restaurants and offices. In 2016, TKD Architects redesigned three levels of the Metcalfe Bond Stores to create new open-plan office space, removing the earlier interior works to reveal the original steel, brick and timber structure. Many buildings of this type have been lost to redevelopment, and few remain with such little alteration and adaptation.
Sydney Open visitors will be able to see the interior of one of the Metcalfe Bond Stores, and the offices of Create NSW, Sound NSW and Screen NSW, and The Rocks Creative Hub, which have spaces available for creative sector use.
Built
1916
Architect
Unknown
Alterations
Devine Erby Mazlin, from 1972; TKD Architects, 2016
Acknowledgements
80 George Street is owned and managed by Placemaking NSW.
Find out more about this building here
Create NSW, Metcalfe Bond Stores
80 George Street, The Rocks
Entry details
Create NSW offices and The Rocks Creative Hub
10am–4pm
3.30pm
Need to know
Accessible featuresThere is lift access at the entrance of 80 George Street to the Create NSW office spaces on level 1. The Rocks Creative Hub has a secondary entrance on George Street and is accessible via a platform lift. Both spaces include all-gender ambulant bathrooms. Accessible toilets are available
Toilets availablePhotography allowedPhotography for personal use only
