Heritage | CORE Consulting Engineers

Queen Victoria Building (QVB) -Sydney CBD, NSW

Overview

CORE has provided ongoing engineering support to Vicinity Centres at the iconic Queen Victoria Building (QVB) in Sydney.

As one of Australia’s most significant heritage retail buildings, the QVB requires careful engineering oversight to ensure that upgrades, tenant works and maintenance interventions respect the historic fabric while maintaining safety and performance. CORE has worked closely with the asset team to provide practical, heritage-sensitive engineering advice, supporting both major interventions and day-to-day operational requirements.

CORE’s involvement has included a wide range of structural and facade engineering services, including:

Replacement of the main dome external walkway balustrade, designing a copper-clad stainless-steel structure to replicate the heritage appearance while improving durability and safety (construction value approx. $2.5M)
Facade and structural condition audits, monitoring and targeted repair recommendations
Replacement of the main dome external walkway balustrade, designing a copper-clad stainless-steel structure to replicate the heritage appearance while improving durability and safety (construction value approx. $2.5M)
Tenant fit-out engineering, including structural strengthening, mezzanine structures and selective wall removals
Great Australian Clock maintenance works, including load assessments and access planning
Awning structural assessments
Loading assessments for internal EWP access to enable safe maintenance and installation works
Engineering support for amenities upgrades within the heritage building

Trusted Engineering Advice for a Complex Heritage Asset

Heavily integrated with other major disciplines, facades and building services play a significant role in determining the overall value, performance, safety and sustainability of a building.

Through ongoing collaboration with Vicinity Centres and the broader consultant team, CORE has helped ensure that upgrades and operational works within the QVB are delivered safely, efficiently and with respect for the building’s heritage
significance.

Our role as trusted engineering advisors has supported the long-term stewardship of this landmark Sydney asset, enabling the building to continue operating as one of Australia’s most recognisable retail and heritage destinations.

Government, Heritage, Electrical, Hydraulic, Structural

Pioneers Memorial Park – Leichardt, NSW

Working Within A Sensitive Heritage Landscape

CORE was engaged by Hector Abrahams Architects to deliver structural, electrical and hydraulic engineering design services for new amenities within Pioneers Memorial Park on behalf of Inner West City Council. The project involved the design of a new public amenities facility within a heritage-listed park located above an archaeological cemetery site.

The park is an important local open space and memorial landscape, requiring careful consideration of heritage values and historical sensitivities throughout the design process.

Delivering new infrastructure within Pioneers Memorial Park required careful coordination due to the presence of archaeological remains beneath the site.The design needed to minimise disturbance while ensuring the new facility could be safely and effectively integrated into the park environment.

Key considerations included:

Structural design sensitive to archaeological constraints
Hydraulic services coordinated to minimise ground disturbance
Careful integration within the heritage park setting
Compliance with council and heritage requirements

This project highlights CORE’s ability to deliver public infrastructure within complex heritage environments, where careful engineering decisions help protect the layered history of the site while enabling its continued use by the community.

Government, Heritage, Electrical, Fire Engineering & Fire Protection, Hydraulic, Mechanical

Gunnamatta Park – Cronulla, NSW

Overview

CORE was engaged by Sam Crawford Architects to provide Mechanical, Electrical, Hydraulic and Fire engineering design services for the renewal of the Gunnamatta Pavilion at Gunnamatta Park, Cronulla on behalf of Sutherland Shire Council.

Located on the foreshore of Gunnamatta Bay, the heritage-listed pavilion is a landmark community facility that has served the local community since the late 1930s. The renewal project aims to revitalise the building while preserving its heritage character and strengthening its role as a community gathering place.

The project delivers upgraded public amenities, flexible community spaces and improved connections to the surrounding park and waterfront environment.

Our Approach

CORE worked closely with the architect and consultant team to deliver coordinated building services design that supports both the functional requirements of the pavilion and its long-term role as a community facility.

Our scope included the design and documentation of:

Mechanical ventilation systems
Electrical lighting and power infrastructure
Hydraulic water supply and drainage systems
Fire services design

The engineering design prioritised durability, simplicity and operational efficiency, ensuring the facility can support heavy public use while remaining practical for council operations and maintenance.

CORE’s building services design supports the delivery of a durable, well-integrated public facility that will continue to serve the Cronulla community for generations to come.

Heritage, Hospitality, Electrical, Fire Engineering & Fire Protection, Hydraulic, Mechanical

Milton Park Country House Hotel & Spa

Great Engineering Isn't Always Seen. It's Felt.

Milton Park Country House Hotel & Spa is a historic Southern Highlands estate originally established in 1910 as a grand country residence, later evolving into one of the region’s most recognised luxury hospitality destinations.

CORE was engaged by Salter Brothers to deliver building services engineering for the refurbishment of guest rooms and public areas as part of a broader repositioning of the estate into a premium boutique hospitality experience.

The works formed part of a multi-million-dollar transformation of the property, carefully revitalising the historic estate while elevating guest experience and modernising the building’s operational performance.

The project required engineering solutions that could support contemporary hospitality standards while respecting the architectural character of the heritage building.

The moment you step into Bowral’s Milton Park Country House Hotel & Spa, you’re met with a sense of calm, refinement and quiet luxury -a space that truly transports you.

This project required modern services interventions to be integrated within an existing heritage building while maintaining the atmosphere and elegance expected of a luxury country retreat.

Key Challenges:

Integrating modern building services within a heritage structure
Supporting a premium guest experience through environmental comfort and reliability
Coordinating services upgrades within constrained existing building fabric
Delivering systems that support long-term operational performance for the asset owner

Engineering the Experience

While any project can meet a technical brief, not every engineering approach creates a space that genuinely feels exceptional. In hospitality environments, engineering plays a quiet yet powerful role. Beyond systems and compliance, it influences the comfort, air quality, lighting, acoustics and overall reliability and performance of the building – ultimately
shaping the guest experience.

At Milton Park, our focus extended beyond simply upgrading services. We worked closely with the project team to ensure engineering decisions supported the sense of calm, refinement and quiet luxury that defines the property.

Our Engineering Approach Prioritised:

Creating comfortable and consistent internal environments for guests
Enhancing air quality, lighting quality and acoustic comfort
Integrating modern services discreetly within the heritage structure
Supporting operational reliability for the hotel team

For hospitality asset owners and developers, these decisions also support broader outcomes – helping reduce operational risk, avoid unplanned lifecycle costs and ensure building systems perform reliably for years to come.

By aligning engineering with both the architectural vision and the long-term operational needs of the asset, we were able to deliver a space where the engineering works quietly in the background while the guest experience remains front and centre.

Seeing this beautiful heritage property come to life – and now performing as intended – is incredibly rewarding for the entire team.

Commercial Office, Heritage, Façade, Remedial, Structural

124-136 Chalmers St, Surry Hills, NSW

Restoring the Beauty of a Historic Facade

CORE was engaged by Hector Abrahams Architects as the heritage facade remediation engineer for the restoration of the historic Amalgamated Engineering Union building at 124–136 Chalmers Street in Surry Hills.Constructed in 1929, the building’s distinctive terracotta faience facade is listed as a heritage item by the City of Sydney for its architectural quality and technological significance.

Over time, deterioration of the original fixing system and vegetation growth had caused sections of the facade to become unstable, with tiles loosening and posing a potential risk to the public along the busy Chalmers Street frontage. Investigations confirmed that conservation of the fragile terracotta facade would require an extraordinary intervention -the careful dismantling and reconstruction of the facade to address the underlying structural and durability issues.

CORE provided specialist engineering advice to guide the conservation strategy and ensure the heritage fabric could be preserved while addressing safety and structural performance.

The facade was safeguarded through extensive scaffolding works before restoration commenced. Approximately 80% of the terracotta tiles were individually removed, assessed and reinstated -requiring meticulous coordination and careful engineering oversight.

CORE had also previously delivered structural strengthening works to the building, installing carbon fibrere inforcement to the existing floor slabs, enhancing structural capacity while minimising intervention to the heritage structure.

Through close collaboration with key stakeholders, the facade was successfully conserved and reinstated. The project was recognised with a Highly Commended award in the Built Conservation category at the 2024 National Trust Heritage Awards, acknowledging the careful restoration of this significant heritage facade.

Commercial Office, Heritage, Remedial

347 Kent St, NSW

CORE was engaged to deliver remedial facade advice pertaining to both heritage and non-heritage areas of 347 Kent St, a commercial building located within the vibrant YCK (York, Clarence and Kent St) Precinct of Sydney CBD.

Timeline

6 months – remedial specification

12 months – construction

Facade Remediation is an Art Form – Requiring Careful Balance Between the Rectification of Issues and Maintenance of a Building’s Unique Character.

Project Deliverables:

Full facade inspection
Defect mapping
Delivery of remedial specification
Quantifying final material quantities for tender

Defects associated with the facade primarily involved lead paint deterioration and cracking of the blockwork.

The facade inspection was conducted via ropes and supported by a panoramic camera head to deliver high-resolution photos from ground level.

Determination of final tender quantities for each of the remedial items within the specification proved challenging. As the remedial project was to be tendered out as a lump sum package of works, our team had to exercise a degree of caution in the final specification values; overestimating would see the project costs escalate whilst underestimating would result in an underquoting of works.

Grafton Bond Building, 201A Kent Street, NSW

Having developed a strong relationship with Investa, delivering annual facade audits and risk mitigation recommendations for a portfolio of 30 buildings nationwide, CORE was engaged to prepare a remedial specification for the Grafton Bond Building at 201A Kent St in Sydney’s CBD. The impressive, 140-year-old heritage listed building was experiencing expected levels of deterioration to various facade elements for a building its age and required careful restoration to preserve its heritage value.

Timeline

6 months – remedial specification

12 months – construction

Passionate facade remediation experts: preserving buildings of the past to enrich communities of the future

Home to a diverse range of small businesses, the heritage restoration was highly complex, carried out in a live environment with extensive project planning required due to challenges with site access, working at heights and hazardous materials on site.

The pre-delivery stage was particularly critical to undergoing work outside of hours and reducing disruption/noise throughout the works.

The scope included:

Preliminaries and drawings
Window sealant works
Timber frame recoating and repair
Glazing putty repair
Parapet capping sealant works
Security bar works
Masonry repointing and crack stitching
Balustrade corrosion works
Cavity flashing works
Guttering works
Slate roof tile replacement

CORE’s strong understanding of the intricacies of heritage remediation combined with our team’s passion for sustainable and cost-efficient solutions has proudly seen the Grafton Bond Building’s facade restored to its full potential.

Commercial Office, Heritage, Electrical, Fire Engineering & Fire Protection, Hydraulic, Structural

139 Dowling St, Woolloomooloo, NSW

Located in the beautiful suburb of Woolloomooloo, this commanding late-Victorian terrace was set to undergo a complete renovation and rear extension, transforming it into a unique commercial office space.

Timeline

20 months – design through to completed works.

Blending old with new to achieve heritage

Engaged by M.A.D Bespoke Property Group, CORE delivered a 360-degree, multi-disciplinary structural and building services solution for 139 Dowling St, Woolloomooloo.

One of the most impressive features of the project was the design of a custom, inter-tenancy steel staircase showcasing an industrial, warehouse-style finish, serving as a unique focal point within the overall design.

Structural framing for the building’s flooring and rear facade was also designed in-house and utilised as much of the existing structure and framing as possible, resulting in a cost-effective solution that preserved the building’s heritage, achieved architectural intent and delivered the functionality and aesthetic of modern day.

The project spanned 5 open plan levels with CORE’s fire, electrical and hydraulic teams engaged to provide all-encompassing building services design in support of the building’s renovation and extension.

Experts in existing buildings with a passion for heritage, CORE are proud to have completed another successful transformation.