Located 400m from

Harbour, the heritage-listed former Department of Education building, part of the historic Sandstone Precinct, has reopened as the 5-star Capella Sydney Hotel. Make Architects was appointed by Pontiac Land Group to sensitively restore and remodel this former Edwardian Baroque-style governmental landmark for new uses, significantly opening the ground floor to be fully accessible to the public for the first time, with BAR Studio designing the refined new interiors throughout the hotel.

The design team worked closely with consultants and stakeholders, including Heritage NSW and the City of

, to reveal the original character of the protected building, which dates from 1912 and was designed by government architect George McRae. The grandeur of McRae’s architecture, with its Florentine-Palazzo style sandstone facade and marble-clad vestibules, lends itself to a future role as one of the world’s leading hotels.