Sydney Water Workplace Upgrade Programme — Greater Sydney

The Project

Sydney Water's Workplace Upgrade Programme is a multi-year capital initiative to refurbish office and administration buildings across the utility's treatment plant network. The premise is straightforward: people doing critical infrastructure work deserve surroundings that reflect the organisation's standards. The Quakers Hill Administration Building, sitting on an active water treatment plant site, was one of the first projects in the programme, and it was intended to set the benchmark for everything that followed. Rather than demolish and rebuild, we comprehensively refurbished the existing two-level building, a more cost-effective and sustainable approach that aligned with Sydney Water's asset management strategy.

The Challenge

Working inside an active water treatment plant brings a particular set of complications. The building's comms room housed critical infrastructure managing much of the site's treatment systems, and relocating it with zero interruption to operations was the single highest-risk item on the programme. High-voltage electrical cabling ran in an overhead gantry adjacent to the building, requiring a purpose-designed safe works methodology. The soil conditions were poor, demanding careful planning for the new car park, and existing flood risk meant we had to redesign the stormwater and retaining wall systems. During works, the team discovered a Lorikeet nest in an adjacent tree, which meant pausing, consulting ecological specialists, and managing a safe relocation before construction could continue.

My Approach

I led this project from inception as both Project Manager and Design Manager, working alongside Angel Mahchut Architects to develop the brief and design. The upper floor was configured as an open-plan staff office for Sydney Water's site operations team; the lower floor became a multi-purpose touchdown space with meeting rooms, breakout areas, a kitchen, a site laboratory, contractor sign-in zone, and surveillance infrastructure. I managed the full design development, ran the competitive tender process, and appointed Intermain as head contractor. The refurbishment scope was comprehensive, full strip-out, new roof, external cladding, upgraded glazing, new electrical and fire services, a new internal passenger lift for accessibility, and complete fitout of every internal space. Outside, we delivered a 600sqm car park with EV charging and new landscaping. The project achieved a successful Federal Safety Audit, a mandatory milestone for work on Sydney Water's regulated sites.

The Outcome

The finished building is a genuinely good workplace in a setting where that has not historically been the standard. Staff have a dignified, functional base within an industrial operational environment, and the building has become the reference point for subsequent sites in the Workplace Upgrade Programme. What I valued most about this project was the chance to prove that thoughtful refurbishment, managed carefully and designed with real attention to how people use a building, can deliver contemporary outcomes without the cost or disruption of starting from scratch. That philosophy is at the core of how I work at Yaxley Studio.