Expressing Time – The Hat Factory by Welsh + Major Architects

Adaptively and creatively reimagining an existing well storied and layered building into a singular residence, The Hat Factory becomes an expression of time. Welsh + Major Architects combines approaches to allow for an integrated flexibility and evolution in future, allowing the home to adapt to the needs of its growing family.

Built to the boundary on all of its four walls, The Hat Factory has an intricately storied past within its confined edges. Like its namesake, it was once an industrious place for crafting millinery, as well as being a printer and its own social centre of sorts. Famed for its occupation by squatters, the building is featured in the Australian Museum of Squatting, and if its walls could talk they would tell many stories. In acquiring the building to transform into a home, the owners wanted to retain the character and essence of its past, express an industrial nature and also allow for the inclusion of familiar reminders of ‘home’. Welsh + Major Architects used a layered approach to ensure the past and present coexist cohesively and harmoniously, while providing for its changing needs over time.

Internally, a mix of refined metal work and an industrial language is seen throughout, with untouched finishes and walls revealing a delicate history.

Located in Newtown and built by SFN Constructions, The Hat Factory remains as a survivor of fire, parties and invasions, and its nuanced markings stand as testament. The overall space is divided into two separate residences, allowing for expansion and contraction as needed. Bringing light into the home was a key and initial intervention that created an internal connection to the natural, despite its encasing shell. A lightwell was inserted along the northern side of the building, where the building is held back from the adjacent sandstone wall of its neighbour, revealing additions to the historical dialogue of the area. The front of the building then opens to allow additional light in through the opaque façade screening that blankets the streetscape.

Internally, a mix of refined metal work and an industrial language is seen throughout, with untouched finishes and walls revealing a delicate history. Existing graffiti was retained, allowing for the preoccupation of the squatters to continue into the present, adding an element of animation at the same time. Timber is then used to add warmth and insert a crafted series of elements into the various levels, concealing storage and amenity while allowing the overall volumes to be left open and connected visually. The same timber tones are used to blanket each level and warm the otherwise industrial and masonry series of spaces.

A lightwell was inserted along the northern side of the building, where the building is held back from the adjacent sandstone wall of its neighbour, revealing additions to the historical dialogue of the area.

Connected as one dwelling from approach, The Hat Factory integrates a series of subtleties that create intimate moments internally while also engaging with history. Deftly weaving together old and new, Welsh + Major Architects conjures a sensitive balance between past and present.