Sirius

THE AWARD WINNING BOOK: SIRIUS 

Sirius tells the extraordinary story of the fight to save one of the most notable Brutalist buildings in Sydney and Australia, along with its successful, long-running social housing community. It traces the history, design, life of a community as its fights to ensure both architectural preservation and important social threads.

Prizes and Awards

• SIRIUS was awarded the 2020 Adrian Ashton Prize for Architectural Culture & Literature.
• SIRIUS was a Finalist for the National Gallery of Victoria's International Cornish Family Prize for Art and Design Publishing.

First built in the 1970s following a commitment to house displaced public tenants after the Battle for the Rocks and the Green Bans, Sirius was conceptualised by Architect Tao Gofers as a ‘vertical village’ and delivered under a tight government budget. It was perhaps the last, and arguably the most successful, tower built for public housing during the 1970s with the residents forming a strong, unique community over the decades.

In 2015, Sirius became the centre of controversy as the New South Wales Government sought to sell the building to developers and remove its public housing residents, forever changing the fabric of the local community and Sirius's original intention. The issue was a lighting rode for Sydneysiders on issues of housing affordability, private development, social housing, urban living and architecture.

Local Millers Point, Dawes Point and Rocks residents joined with hundreds of passionate advocates from across Australia - including architects, professional bodies, the City of Sydney and the Historic Houses Trust, to protest against this change. The "Save Our Sirius" campaign was born, of which Piper Press and its founding publishers John Dunn and Margaret Bishop were key participants. 

“If you believe Sydney should be more than just an enclave for the rich, then this is a fight you should be part of. Whether you love the look of Sirius or not, the issues in play here are far deeper than aesthetics. At the heart of it, the Berejiklian State Government don’t believe low income people should be living in the city (and certainly not with harbour views) and they’re pushing these them out to the city fringe, far from their communities, transport networks, employment and other support services. But Sirius housed the tightknit community that fought to protect The Rocks in the ‘70s, local residents whose roots go back to the early colony. And this building was purpose-built to house them after those very important fights." Lord Mayor of Sydney, Clover Moore.

Piper Press published this book to both a significant building and its remarkable architecture facing destruction, and to trace an important social history of a unique public housing community and its individual residents. 

On architecture, Sirius provides an understanding of Brutalism, an architectural style often misunderstood. Memorable for its ONE WAY JESUS sign and rooftop pot plants seen from the Harbour Bridge, Sirius is iconic to many Sydneysiders, regardless of their architectural preferences. The book reveals those stories and more. It is written during a unique moment in time and includes interviews with residents, and contributions from advocates including:

•  

  Margaret Bishop
• Shaun Carter
• John Dunn
• Shirley Fitzgerald
  
• Tao Gofers
• Grace Karskens
• Fayroze Lutta
• Alan Morris
  
• Ben Peake
• Charles Pickett
• Amiera Piscopo
• Tim Ross
  

In addition, Sirius contains architectural images and plans and vivid artworks paying tribute to a much-loved building and community, all originally created by a wide range of artists to raise funds for Sirius's heritage listing.

A must-have for architects, urban planners, designers, design-lovers, policy makers, economists and social housing advocates.

Photos of the Sirius launch can be seen here.

More information

Save Our Sirius Foundation

Saving Sirius: Why heritage protection should include social housing

‘It feels gross’: ad for Sydney’s ‘luxury’ Sirius building criticised as insult to former social housing tenants

I designed the Sirius building but I wish the government had knocked it down

From social housing to $1.5m for a studio: minister hits out at ‘dud deal’ sale of Sydney’s Sirius building