George McRae's 1912 Edwardian Baroque sandstone building spent most of its life housing NSW's Department of Education before Make Architects and BAR Studio transformed it into Capella Sydney, which opened in 2023 as one of the most considered heritage conversions Australia has produced. The warm honey-coloured sandstone facade — arched windows, ornamental cornicing, a confident civic presence on the corner near Circular Quay — gives nothing away about the four-storey contemporary rooftop extension above it, clad in fluted anodised metal fins that catch the light without competing with what McRae built. Inside, BAR Studio navigated the tension between preservation and contemporary hospitality with real intelligence. The reinstated central courtyard anchors the building's public life, while the 192 rooms and suites split between two distinct registers: heritage rooms in the original structure carry arched fanlight windows, black-framed joinery, and a palette of warm linen and dark timber that lets McRae's bones breathe; tower rooms in the extension open onto full-height glazing with Sydney's civic skyline laid out below. The bar strikes a different mood entirely — harlequin marble floors, brass-trimmed counters, and suspended feather-and-glass chandeliers bring a nocturnal theatricality that sits closer to a Mayfair members club than a hotel lobby. The spa pool, set beneath restored coffered ceilings and original arched colonnades, feels like a Roman bath that simply waited a century for the right brief.

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For generations, the Department of Education building in Sydney’s Sandstone Precinct has stood quietly, its golden facade forming an unassuming backdrop to the rhythm of the city. Reawakening as Capella Sydney in March 2023, the heritage-listed icon will welcome guests inside its walls for the very first time, setting a global benchmark for luxury accommodation, cuisine and cultural immersion. Embedding visitors in the beating heart of the city’s commercial, cultural and hospitality precinct, Capella Sydney also marks the first property under the Capella Hotels and Resorts constellation to open in Australia. Balancing storied architectural features with a contemporary design aesthetic, Capella Sydney celebrates the Australian panorama through its interiors, location and experiences. Spanning eight levels, the 192 guestrooms and suites are anchored by three ground-level food and beverage outlets, with spaces throughout the hotel unfurling to reveal commissioned and collected artworks, sophisticated furnishings and intriguing objet d’art – all within footsteps of the glistening harbour foreshore, the famed Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge. Occupying an entire city block, encircled by Loftus, Bridge and Young Streets, the building was originally designed by architect George McRae in the Edwardian Baroque style. It first opened for government use in 1915. More than 100 years later, the meticulous restoration sees the building ready to write a new chapter in its history.