Dacey Gardens, Daceyville


Robertson & Hindmarsh were invited by the NSW Department of Housing's Urban Renewal Group to participate in one of the most significant housing projects in Australia. Dacey Gardens is a garden suburb which was established by the NSW Government in 1913.

The construction of new buildings and the rehabilitation of the existing houses at Dacey Gardens earned the NSW Department of Housing a major award at the 1989 Australian Heritage Awards.

Robertson & Hindmarsh's work entailed extensive measuring and surveying of 109 houses at Daceyville in order to ascertain the best design solution in converting turn-of-the-century houses into dwellings reflecting the current lifestyle and to thoroughly document the building work required. The work entailed preparation of sketch plans for the changes to be presented to the Department and the preparation of working drawings and specifications of the works. At the same time, the heritage significance of the exterior of the buildings had to be maintained by careful restoration of the missing architectural details and sympathetic insertion of new elements, and, in some cases, new first floors.