Retrofit and Colour for the WAF WIN

At the 2025 World Architecture Festival (WAF) in Miami last week, Sirius Redevelopment won the world's best Retrofit and Canberra Hospital Expansion was highly commended for Best Use of Colour — a double celebration for BVN.

Sirius Redevelopment – Retrofit Award Winner (Completed Buildings Category)

The story of the Sirius Redevelopment is one of survival and adaptation. We are thrilled it has resonated with the international Jury of WAF.

A brutalist architectural landmark on Sydney Harbour, Sirius was sold in 2014 for private development. At risk of demolition, BVN joined a consortium that proposed to ‘Retain, Restore and Reimagine’ the original building designed by Teo Gofers. Through careful restoration and discreet contemporary additions, the redevelopment achieved a considerable reduction in embodied carbon and preserved an important piece of Sydney’s modernist heritage.

The design preserves the building’s scale and proportions, highlighting its dual-aspect apartments and original stepped form. With improved public activation and new connections to the historic precinct of The Rocks, the redevelopment has been stitched into Sydney’s urban fabric for the next generation.

At Canberra Hospital Expansion, colour is foundational to an architectural narrative grounded in Country. We are thrilled that the WAF jury has recognised this chromatic storytelling.

We acknowledge the contributions of Traditional Owners, who shared stories of Ngunnawal Country to inform the colour palette, which echoes the geology of the surrounding environment and culturally significant sites, including the Brindabella Ranges and Mount Mugga Mugga. Inside the building, vibrant colours are utilised to facilitate wayfinding and enliven an otherwise muted hospital environment.

Ngunnawal, Wiradjuri, and Kamilaroi artist Lynnice Church’s artwork, ‘Journey of Healing,’ crowns the new entry to the hospital building with 24,073 shimmering metal discs depicting healing pathways and the roles of family, visitors, specialists, and hospital staff in supporting patients. Her work, translated by the architectural team into a façade, is central to the building’s identity and expression.

We share this global recognition with the clients, collaborators, contractors and Communities who brought these projects to life. See you at WAF in 2026!