The Lands by Capella wins three honours at the 2026 NSW Architecture Awards

The landmark project has received three honours at the 2026 NSW Architecture Awards: the Greenway Award for Heritage, alongside Awards for Commercial Architecture and Interior Architecture.

Working alongside Hassell as heritage architects for client Pontiac Land Group, our Asia Pacific team played a key role in the adaptive reuse of Sydney’s former Department of Lands building. Designed and constructed between 1876 and 1892, the landmark building has been transformed into a vibrant new destination while carefully conserving its outstanding heritage significance.

We led the technical heritage strategy throughout the project, guiding the conservation of the building’s historic fabric while enabling carefully considered contemporary interventions. The result demonstrates how sensitive adaptive reuse can safeguard heritage significance while ensuring historic places continue to serve communities for generations to come.  

In its citation, the Australian Institute of Architects jury described the project as “a generous and accomplished act of architectural resurrection,” recognising the collaborative approach that has successfully balanced conservation with contemporary design.  

These latest honours build on the project’s recent success at the National Trust (NSW) Heritage Awards (Architecture category), further recognising the care, craftsmanship and collaboration that have brought one of Australia’s finest Victorian civic buildings into a new era.