The Surry Residential Building / Angelo Candalepas and Associates
+ 30

Text description provided by the architects. I had wanted to create a building that would offer something to the walker in Sydney; an urban building designed with humans in mind; a building capable of offering people a smile when they walk towards the city and an even bigger smile when they walk away.
Angelo Candalepas 2019


Overlooking a main thoroughfare in Surry Hills on the outskirts of town, this medium-density development of 24 new apartments makes a strong and thoughtful contribution to the streetscape. It is a scale appropriate to its surrounding urban context, presenting a limited palette of materials. These considerations contributed to the rare decision by the authorities to remove the two (contributing) heritage buildings to make way for this exciting project.



Designed in close collaboration with clients Oscar and Camilla Done, this carefully detailed and well-planned project offers consistent, uncompromising amenities. It successfully addresses design challenges, while prioritizing environmentally friendly building design principles. Creative solutions were sought to combat noise and the sun, protecting and protecting its inhabitants while providing light and efficient ventilation.


The street facades are well articulated and punctuated by the use of recesses and junctions of expressed materials, favoring a play of light and shadow. Concrete and glass blocks are the main materials used for the facade while ceramic tiles, screens, aluminum framing and glass have been carefully selected for the smaller facade elements; refining the architectural language and humanizing the appearance of harder materials.


With the help of changing lighting conditions, the shimmering tapestry of turquoise and tangerine colored ceramic tiles enliven the distinctive Elizabeth Street facade, refreshing and re-energizing a once neglected part of our city. New commercial spaces on the ground floor inject life into the streetscape, once again making it a priority.

Inside, unexpected private sanctuaries and hidden oases are offered by the presence of intimate interior courtyards and common spaces. A catalyst for social interaction, they are sanctuaries of attractive and inviting spaces that modestly reveal themselves to residents and neighboring properties.
