Yirranma Place

Nestled in a jewel of inter-war architecture, Yirranma Place is the philanthropic space of the Paul Ramsay Foundation, one of Australia’s largest charities. Its walls are those of the First Church of Christ Scientist, built in 1927 by Australian architect Samuel George Thorp in Darlinghurst.

After serving as a parish and then a private residence in the 1980s, the church was transformed by SJB and Cornerstone Property into a hybrid workplace. Today, Yirranma Place houses galleries, event spaces, meeting rooms and an incubator, with a focus on accessibility and diversity. The building has retained its large round and rectangular windows, parquetry and woodwork in the Beaux-Arts style, as well as a monumental organ.

Inspired by Carlo Scarpa’s Castelvecchio Museum in Verona, an example of the restoration of a medieval castle in the 1960s, the project combines past and present for future generations.