Darling Quarter,

North Building Lobby

The development of the Darling Quarter precinct is bringing new vitality to Sydney’s Darling Harbour. Hammond Studio has played an integral role in the refurbishment of landmark sites in the precinct, including the Darling Quarter South Building Lobby and End-Of-Trip Facilities (completed 2022), and the North Building Lobby (newly completed).

The North Lobby continues the design narrative of its neighbouring South Lobby, with Hammond Studio taking inspiration from the nearby Cockle Bay. The design team dove into the site’s rich history of cockle and oyster shells, which were a source of food for the local Eora People over a period of 7,000 years. Accumulated over those thousands of years, the remnants of those shells were later used to create lime for mortar during Colonial-era construction.

The design of the North Lobby is intended to blur the boundary between the base building and lessee zone, while also connecting it back to the South Lobby. Acoustic Kvadrat ceiling panels continue from the North Lobby into the lessee’s quarters to blur the boundary between base building interior and fit-out interior. A green wall set above the elevator zone brings the outside in, while also providing air-cleaning properties.

An eye-catching feature of Hammond Studio’s repositioning of the North Lobby is the spectacular video wall featuring AI-generated artwork by Sydney studio, Vandal. Monolithic in scale, the artwork wall encases the escalator pit, rising through the space to partially wrap around the first level. Responding to a brief from Hammond Studio and project stakeholders, Vandal has created other-worldly imagery inspired by native flora and fauna. This injects movement and dynamism into the transient, high-traffic North Lobby zone.

The ‘Natural Rhythms’ exhibition features four animated artworks, that run on a quarterly seasonal cycle, showcasing ecological events associated with that particular time of year.

Nestled alongside the escalators and beneath the artwork wall Hammond Studio has curated a flexible working and meeting zone furnished with timeless furniture pieces that put the emphasis on comfort and luxury. A custom designed coffee table composed of a marble base with a cantilevered timber table top, as well as planter boxes, are an extended dialogue of Hammond’s South Lobby cafe design. These bespoke pieces are complemented by design classics including a Bassam Fellows sofa, Molteni&C armchair, Cassina P22 armchair and custom Tappeti rug designed by Hammond Studio.

Reach out to Hammond Studio today, to discuss your building’s next lifecycle.

Photography by Simon Whitbread. © Hammond Studio