Kings Cross Library

The Existing Kings Cross Library and Customer Service Centre is an iconic project situated in a building of Heritage Significance at 50-52 Darlinghurst Road, Potts Point. The original building was designed in 1938 and the Woolworth’s building officially opened in 1938. The four-story building interwar functionalist style commercial building is rich in both history and local significance. Through the years of 1946-1985 It also played an ancillary role in the operations of the Australian Broadcasting Commission in Darlinghurst who leased the first floor of the building and converted the building to a studio space large enough to accommodate the 82-piece symphony orchestra. The City of Sydney moved Kings Cross Library to the former Woolworths building in 2003. The building now houses the Councils Customer Service Centre, located on the double height Entry Level Ground Floor. The Library currently occupies the level 1 and level 1 Mezzanine of the existing 4 story building. The design concept perception of openness and transparency in its operation with a high level of flexibility and adaptability in its use. The design achieved these goals by creating large, open, light filled spaces through the use of transparent curtain and glazed partitions and open planning. The proposed design utilized adaptable sheer pod-like internal structures that sat centrally within the space but completely detached from the existing building envelope enclosed by a sheer curtain to create new spaces. The Material Selection and furniture design drew heavily from the rich history of the building envelope with the ribbon like external windows and rounded corners. There was a conscious understanding of the buildings significance to the local area and a strong emphasis on celebrating this and re interpreting this understanding for architectural and cultural significance into the new design.