Hobart’s first high school, returned to public life.
Domain House is one of Hobart’s most significant sandstone buildings. Constructed in 1848 as the city’s first high school, it became the University of Tasmania’s original home in 1892. When the University moved to Sandy Bay in the early 1960s, the building passed through a series of occupants before falling vacant in the late 1990s. By the time we became involved, it had sat empty for 15 years and was in serious disrepair.
Reversing the decay.
Working alongside Paul Johnston Architects and heritage consultant Peter Freeman, we set about stabilising the building fabric and carefully reversing decades of neglect. The approach was deliberately layered: conservation of the original structure first, then considered refurbishment of the interior spaces, and finally a framework for how the building might adapt in the future as the University’s needs change.
The neo-Gothic detailing, the sandstone walls, the weight of the place - none of that needed improving. It just needed to be revealed again, and given a purpose worthy of the building’s history.
A building with a future, not just a past.
The restoration reinstated a relationship between building and institution that had been dormant for half a century. It also ensured that the next chapter of Domain House’s life will be as deliberate and considered as the ones that came before.
