Cremorne Studios

by Layan Design Group Pty Ltd

Cremorne Studios is a 6-storey highly sustainable and energy-efficient commercial development.

With an aim of producing low-energy and high efficiency office spaces, the building sought to revitalise the existing street character façade. By drawing on the historical identity of the area, designers Layan were able to reference the materiality if the surrounds and reinterpreted them in an innovative and creative way.

Traditionally the area was occupied by small-scale factories and workshops housed in brick-style warehouse buildings throughout. The focus for the design was to achieve a strong, clean, simple aesthetic, which had a sympathetic balance to the history of the neighbourhood.

Off-form textured concrete for the exterior walls, concrete floors and block walls, exposed steel work, structure and services resulted in a building that is honest and unpretentious. The building’s rawness has a sense of charm about it, a quiet confidence in the eclectic neighbourhood in which it sits.

With a 16m wide street frontage on William Street to the south, commercial buildings encompass the remaining three sides at low level.

The large-scale double-glazed windows to the North and South are framed with natural anodized aluminium profiles, creating a vertical order and rhythm running down the height of the building. A generous 3.3m floor to ceiling height creates light filled spaces throughout, with expansive views across the neighbourhood.

The building aims to bring together tenants and like-minded people to create a strong sense of community. The heart of the building is a small, exquisite coffee shop located on the ground floor.

Designed to achieve the highest environmental standards the building aligned its design principles alongside German sustainability standards, Cremorne Studios achieved an R4.5 rating for all external walls, R7.0 for the roof as well as a highly-efficient double-glazed low-E façade.

Lighting systems are also controlled by motion sensors to reduce energy consumption.

The AC system utilizes a highly efficient Swedish made heat-recovery system to reduce power consumption. All toilets utilize rainwater collected from the roof of the building. A full-sized photovoltaic (solar) system will be installed in due course.

Today, Cremorne is becoming a dynamic commercial district full of creative businesses looking for a more authentic character. Cremorne Studios is a pure reflection of that.

Photography by Peter Bennetts.

Keep up to date with The Local Project’s latest interviews, project overviews, collections releases and more – view our TLP Articles & News.

Explore more design, interior & architecture archives in our TLP Archives Gallery.