The Mint

The once vacant and almost ruinous Mint Coining Factory and associated buildings, located behind the Mint Offices on Macquarie Street, has been transformed into a campus-like headquarters for the Historic Houses Trust and includes a significant new resource centre, the Caroline Simpson Library and Research Centre. It is a specialist public library located within the campus in the centre of Sydney and is primarily a research facility for Australia’s built heritage. Along with extensive collections the library also includes sensitive and significant objects and artefacts. The library includes collection, reading and research areas, exhibition and display areas, as well as technical and support facilities. The library is located within a very sensitive heritage environment and the project is created by adaptively reusing existing buildings, while contemporary architectural forms are carefully inserted between the heritage fabric to accommodate a theatrette, exhibition areas, foyer and bar. The campus has become a sanctuary from the frenetic pace of the city, frequently hosting a range of functions and seminars and is a tranquil contrast to Sydney’s CBD.

The fjc design approach was to balance the preservation and high level of environmental control requirements with the desire for the creation of an inviting and welcoming library. The ground levels of the library are transparent and open with associated display and exhibition areas visibly accessible from outside the secure zones. New materials, finishes and architecture have been inserted into existing fabric to create a harmonious and exciting result. This was a very complex project in terms of the technical nature of the facilities and also the site conditions. The site was of great heritage significance, difficult to access, required extensive environmental remediation and included many areas of archaeological remains requiring preservation and display. The facility is located over two storeys within the 1850s Coining Room building, together with an adjacent new building that accommodates a controlled and secure Repository, IT access areas, the services facilities and several levels of graded environmental control. Although not a big facility (less than 1,000sqm) the Caroline Simpson Library is a state of the art specialist facility of considerable complexity.

Read more in Insights: Expert-led tours of The Cutaway with Museums of History NSW; Memories of Monuments: Seidler and Giurgola.