18 Grote Street

This former run-down small two-storey bluestone office building near the heart of Adelaide has been recycled into a modern four-storey commercial and laboratory facility for a prominent community service organisation. The completed facility accommodates offices and specialist ophthalmology functions including testing facilities and manufacturing laboratories.

The architectural concept was to retain the striking bluestone external building fabric and insert a new four-storey building within. Significant challenges included designing to enable construction to occur without damaging the fragile existing building, incorporation of high-technology facilities in an 'old' building and reinforcing the building to accept additional floors.