Chippendale Warehouse Transformed into Architectural Masterpiece

Behind an unassuming brick façade in Chippendale, The Pigeon Shed is a Sydney warehouse that rewrites the rulebook on inner-city renovation. Part gallery, part residential sanctuary, the former atelier that earned its nickname thanks to a colony of wild birds that once called it home is today an architectural anomaly.

Owned by creative director Beau Neilson, the daughter of billionaire arts patron Judith Neilson and fund manager Kerr, the transformed 1914 industrial shell has been an artistic labour of love for the owner of The Vanguard in Newtown, reimagined alongside the team at MCK Architects.

Purchased in 2012 for $3.1 million, Neilson transformed the one-time dilapidated shell over a decade.

Since then, the five-bedroom, four-bathroom Chippendale property has appeared in several architectural publications, such as Habitus, Architizer and The Design Files, celebrated for its unique blend of steel, timber, marble and concrete surfaces coupled with its intelligent use of space.

The savvy reinvention of the compact 324sq m corner block footprint has resulted in 735 sq m of internal and external living space across three levels.

Although selling agent Shannan Whitney of BresicWhitney is not publicly commenting on the price guide, the home is reportedly being shopped around for about $19 million.

The one-time soap factory is being traded in by Neilson for a $20 million waterfront estate she recently bought in Double Bay, according to news reports.

The contemporary home features gallery-sized entertainment zones with dramatic high ceilings, vertical gardens and landscaped courtyards that allow for oodles of natural light and private gatherings inside and out.

The main living level houses a vast gourmet kitchen featuring a dramatically long island bench, a hidden butler’s pantry and an internal courtyard that flows seamlessly to an indoor pool. On the same level, a family room also adjoins a second internal terrace.

A unique copper-clad elevator joins all three floors, including a lower-level lounge room, a library with a secret door to a guest bedroom suite, and a separate study.

The top-level layout has three more bedrooms incorporating the upper-floor primary wing with a full-width street-facing terrace, a designer ensuite and dressing room. Each of the two remaining bedrooms has its own en-suites and shares a grand landscaped side terrace.

Additional features include a built-in solar system, hydronic heating, exposed beams and original brickwork.

Located within a short walk to UTS, Broadway, and Newtown cafes and restaurants and the CBD.

The Pigeon Shed at 42-44 Pine St, Chippendale, interest campaign with Shannan Whitney of BresicWhitney.

The first Sirena 42M has entered the water, combining Luca Vallebona’s exterior design, Van Oossanen naval architecture and interiors by Hot Lab.

For a yacht builder, launching a new flagship is more than adding metres. It requires different engineering, supplier coordination, owner expectations and operational thinking. Sirena Yachts has now crossed that threshold with the first 42-metre model in its larger superyacht range.

The Sirena 42M is the Turkish yard’s largest yacht to date and the first completed model from a family also conceived at 35 and 50 metres. Construction began in late 2023, with hull and superstructure joined in February 2025. The first yacht was sold through Sirena’s in-house team and is scheduled to appear at the Monaco Yacht Show.

Exterior design is by Luca Vallebona, with naval architecture by Van Oossanen Naval Architects and detailed engineering by Eureka. The combination places efficient hull development beneath an exterior intended to deliver generous usable deck areas rather than relying on size alone.

Inside, Hot Lab, part of The Viken Group, has developed an organic design language. That description typically signals rounded forms, natural materials and fewer hard visual transitions between rooms. The effectiveness will be easier to judge when completed photography and onboard access replace renders, but the approach suits the current movement towards calmer, residential yacht interiors.

At 42 metres, owner experience becomes inseparable from crew operation. Buyers should examine crew circulation, galley logistics, storage, engine-room access, tender handling and noise isolation alongside the guest spaces. A successful yacht must make hospitality appear effortless because the technical and service plan is working invisibly beneath it.

The Monaco debut will be important for Sirena. It places the 42M in front of brokers, owners and advisers comparing it with established European yards in the same bracket. Build quality, systems access and finish consistency will matter as much as the silhouette.

The first launch also creates a reference point for the wider range. If the 42M performs well in use, it can give credibility to both smaller and larger Sirena superyacht proposals. A flagship’s job is therefore not simply to impress its owner; it must demonstrate what the yard can reliably deliver next.

Fact box

– Model: Sirena 42M
– Length: 42 metres
– Status: First hull launched; Monaco Yacht Show debut planned
– Exterior: Luca Vallebona
– Naval architecture: Van Oossanen Naval Architects
– Engineering: Eureka
– Interiors: Hot Lab, The Viken Group
– Significance: Largest Sirena yacht to date

Chippendale Warehouse Transformed into Architectural Masterpiece

A century-old warehouse reborn as a $19 million inner-city sanctuary, The Pigeon Shed blends gallery-scale drama with family living in a bold architectural reinvention.