Town Hall Upgrade
Centennial Hall is the most impressive example of an English Renaissance styled interior in Australia
Current works
About the Town Hall
Previous upgrades
The City is undertaking a long-term plan to restore, conserve and protect the 19th century building for future generations.
The first stage of works included a complete internal refurbishment which brought Sydney Town Hall into the modern era and enhanced its sustainability while retaining its historic charm and respecting its heritage significance. Due to the scale of work, this first stage cost $40 million and saw the historic building closed to the public for two years, and reopen in March 2010.
In early 2012, the City will start the next phase of the upgrade, which will cost approximately $9 million, and involve external repairs to the clock tower and include replacing 26 cubic metres of stone. The building will remain open to the public over this time.
Current works
These improvement works involve restoring the building’s exterior and include:
- Restoring and cleaning the sandstone façade, which has faced almost 150 years of exposure to weather and pollution
- Designing and installing new external lighting, which will use approximately 50 per cent less power
- Restoring the clock and clock tower and installing seismic bracing for protection against potential earthquake activity
- A survey of the Vestibule dome followed by appropriate conservation
- Repairing the flagpole
- Improving internal joinery and fire services
Sydney Town Hall’s Grand Organ, one of the largest in the world with more than 8,700 pipes, is also being cleaned, tuned and restored over a two year period.
Work on the clock tower restoration will take about 18 months. After that, Intricate repair works to the building’s remaining façades will be undertaken in stages over four years, starting at the Building’s north eastern corner (corner Druitt Street and George Street), moving to the western end and then to the south.
More information
Geoff Brew
Specialist Project Manager
Tel: 02 9265 9291
Email: gbrew@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au
About the Town Hall
Sydney Town Hall at night
Sydney Town Hall was built between 1868 and 1889, on the site of the former Old Sydney Burial Ground, from local Sydney sandstone in the French Second Empire architectural style. Its location in the heart of the City of Sydney provides a popular civic and venue space and it offers versatile performance facilities, hosting orchestras and international performers – from Dame Joan Sutherland to Lady Gaga.
The building is renowned for its splendid Victorian interiors, including the Vestibule, Centennial Hall, Council Chamber, reception rooms and offices for the Lord Mayor and elected councillors. Dominating the Centennial Hall is the Grand Organ, made by the English company William Hill & Son. Installed in 1890, it was the largest pipe organ in the world.
Building upgrades until now have been minimal. The historic birdcage lift was installed in 1906 (and is now the oldest known operating electric lift in NSW) and air conditioning and fire protection systems were put in more than 60 years later.
In the early 1970s, a 23 storey office block (Town Hall House) was built for the administration divisions of the City of Sydney. Town Hall House is now linked to Sydney Town Hall.
Prior to all upgrade work since the 1990s, the City has undertaken extensive archaeological monitoring to recover evidence of the Old Sydney Burial Ground for future research.
Major works were carried out in the vestibule, Centennial Hall, entry and north crush spaces in the early 1991–92 to celebrate Council's sesquicentenary.
In 2003, upgrades to the Druitt Street entrance, disabled access and public toilet facilities took the building a step closer to modern standards.
Previous upgrades
A major upgrade of Sydney Town Hall’s interior was completed in 2010 and publically celebrated over three-days in March 2010.
The wiring and pipes inside Australia’s finest High Victorian building hadn’t been overhauled since the 1930s and its outdated fire safety system was a potential danger to the 360,000 people who visit each year.
Installing the new plant and operating systems, cabling, and stormwater infrastructure meant a basement had to be excavated under the Town Hall.
As the Town Hall was built over Sydney’s first official European burial ground, expert archaeologists were on hand to supervise the excavation, which saw 6,750 square metres of soil and rock removed.
The City also worked closely with the NSW Heritage Council as the grand Centennial Hall was supported on temporary steel trussed “bridges” while the excavation work went on below it. Sensors to monitor movement and vibration were used to make sure Centennial Hall was not affected by the disturbance.
The Lower Town Hall was transformed into one of Sydney’s finest multifunction exhibition spaces for concerts, meetings and community activities. With a new climate control system, flexible staging, and lighting and acoustics equipment, the Lower Town Hall is now a contemporary performing arts venue.
The Hall meets international museum standards and provides new exhibition spaces for public displays. It is protected against fire by state-of-the-art smoke
detection and inert gas suppression, which can put fires out without causing water damage. Beneath the Hall is a new curatorial storage space where more than 3,000 precious historical items are kept safe.
The Lower Town Hall was transformed into one of Sydney's finest exhibition spaces
Sustainability
The City seized this opportunity to green the Town Hall by improving its energy efficiency. More than 1700 new, energy efficient lights were fitted. A state-of-the-art computer system controls smart sensors that switch lights off in unused areas.
Discreet energy efficient lights were fitted throughout the building
The sustainable lighting and smart sensors mean the building will use 30 per cent less energy than previously. New hydraulics and storm water infrastructure throughout the building will help reduce water use by 15 to 20 per cent.
On the northern roof of the Town Hall, 240 solar panels – which can supply 48KW of power – were installed. New roof insulation will help retain heat in winter and keep the building cool in hot weather.
Facts and figures from stage 1
More than 300,000 hours of construction by more than 150 City of Sydney staff and contractors went into the stage 1 works. More fascinating facts and figures about the project are listed below.
Construction in Centennial Hall
- More than 1200 sprinkler heads were installed in the corridors and tucked unobtrusively into the arches.
- 6,750 square metres of soil and rock were excavated from the Lower Town Hall and all material removed was recycled. This created space for plant equipment and a new basement storage area.
- The 1.2 kms of sprinkler pipes, with 1.4 km of water pipes and 58 km of new cabling, were tucked away in the heritage building, which had no ceiling space to hide them.
Highlights of stage 1
- A new function space was created in one of the former vaults of the building, where the Council's archives, records, and cash reserves were once held.
- Damaged historic roof tiles were repaired and replaced using slate from the original source (in Wales!).
- Damaged floor tiles throughout the building were repaired and others were replaced with custom handmade tiles to match existing designs.
- Town Hall's spectacular organ now has its own fire safety system and humidifier to regulate moisture, ensuring the original cedar and leather bellows do not dry out.
The crystal chandelier in the Vestibule was installed in 1880
- The corridors and stairwells have new decorative paint schemes reflecting the late 19th century Victorian era of the building. Up to ten different colour combinations and 10,900 litres of paint were used to highlight the ornate plaster decoration and cornices.
- Original Council Chamber furniture from the 1800s, which was previously in storage, has been restored.
- Upgrade/repair work was carried out on the historic birdcage lift in the Town Hall foyer – the oldest operating electric lift in NSW.
The City of Sydney worked with the NSW Heritage Office throughout the project and Sydney Town Hall was officially listed on the NSW Heritage Register.
- Visit the Sydney Town Hall website
- Visit the NSW Heritage Office website
Behind the scenes of stage 1
Watch this film to find out what went on behind the historic Town Hall walls during stage 1 of the rescue works.
More information
For all enquiries please contact:
Sydney Town Hall Venue Management
483 George Street
Sydney NSW 2000
Tel: 02 9265 9333
Email: enquiry@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au
