Description

Steeped in more than 120 years of history, the Younghusband Woolstore is a rare, enduring example of Victoria's industrial agrarian trade. The project comprises a series of large-scale industrial red-brick buildings, built over a period of 60 years from 1901, spanning two blocks and connected by a bluestone laneway.

The first building was commissioned by wool seller R. Goldsbrough Row and Co., and the site was later acquired by broker Younghusband and Co, which operated the facility until 1970. Today, the Younghusband ghost signage is still plastered across the face of the red brick building, the decommissioned bale lifts and pastoral paraphernalia documenting a life of uses long eclipsed.

In recent years, the former store has been used as a home for small creative companies and a costume store for the Australian Ballet. For decades, the wool store provided affordable studio spaces that gave grassroots artistic enterprises a toehold in a characterful inner-city location.

Today, the building has been revived by a consortium including Irongate, Built, and CDPQ — a joint venture breathing life into the rich heritage form as a mixed-use, industrial village. The building has been deemed of historical and aesthetic significance at a high metropolitan level, and through adaptive reuse, the buildings have been restored and revived by architects Woods Bagot. Stage one was completed mid-2024, which celebrates the characterful personality and patina of the brick building, creating a unique workspace for cultivating curiosity, community and creativity.

What's On

On Friday, join a guided tour through the Younghusband building with commentary from Woods Bagot’s project architects and interior designers and project developer and contractor Built as they discuss the sympathetic approach to reinvigorating this historic city asset. The tour will be followed by a Q+A session with the opportunity to ask questions about the complexities of working on an adaptive reuse project and approach to reviving heritage assets for a second life.

On Saturday, explore the site in your own time. Representatives from Woods Bagot and Built will be on site with information and to answer questions.