Dotted among the modern houses and Originally built as a four-room cottage it was apartment blocks of Sydney’s eastern extended in the 1880s to become a grand suburbs are reminders of the district’s mansion in the late Victorian Italianate style. It was nineteenth century architectural heritage. acquired by the Benevolent Society of New South One such building is Scarba House, a heritage- Wales in 1917 for children and women in need listed villa in Wellington Street, Bondi. When Mirvac and, later, for welfare services and residential care Projects acquired the property and surrounds for the elderly. in 2013, the challenge was to create not only a Project director Graham Cooper says that modern development but one which respected the Mirvac has extensive experience in working historical and aesthetic significance of the site. with heritage buildings and ensured that Scarba The Moreton is the result. A complex of five House, now also known as the ‘Moreton Manor’, mid- and low-rise apartments, neighbouring Scarba and its surrounding gardens were preserved. House have replaced the former administration buildings on the 1.1-hectare site. Now 190 The restored Scarba House and its residential apartments of one, two and three garden area form the focal point of bedrooms, as well as a row of three-bedroom the Moreton development terraces, have been finished in warm, textured materials and a light and beachy colour palette. Many of the homes have stunning views over ‘The architectural firm CO-AP was Bondi as well as towards the harbour and the city. commissioned with heritage firm Design 5 Meanwhile, Scarba House has also been restored Architects to undertake the restoration,’ he says. and its century-old Moreton Bay fig trees still shade In addition to redesigning it as a five-bedroom, the landscaped garden of the complex. For these four-bathroom home, this work included the efforts, Mirvac won the HIA Australian Apartment reinstatement of verandas and transformation Complex award for 2018. of the original sandstone stables into a poolside The restored Scarba House and its garden area pavilion connected to the garden. The house form the focal point of the Moreton development. retains its original joinery while its ornate fireplaces, THE INTERIORS ARE RESTRAINED WITH SOFT AND MUTED TONES SEPTEMBER 2018 HOUSING 27 PROJECTS