Sydney might not have the historic architecture of a European city but that hasn’t stopped it from making its mark as one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Everyone can identify it by the sight of the Opera House or the Harbour Bridge, but it’s packed full of wonderful buildings that have made their mark nationally and internationally because of their designs, even if they aren’t household names.
Tourists have been taking photos of them for many years and today you can see selfies aplenty on Instagram, but one art-form we see less of nowadays is the pencil drawing, which can capture the appeal of building design so much more magically than even the most sophisticated of cameras. To help prove that point, here are Sydney’s most beautiful buildings in contrast for you.
Starting off at the Queen Victoria Building, which dates back to the 1890s, is a real trip back in time as it’s one of the grandest designs in the city and that really comes to life in the pencil drawing. The stained-glass windows, wrought-iron balustrades, and 20-metre glass and copper dome make this a building like almost no other in this city as well as a hugely popular shopping destination.
Another grand building that dates back centuries is the General Post Office, and its Victorian Italian Renaissance Style design really shines when pencil gets put to paper. Elsewhere, Brutalist architecture hasn’t always been as popular as it is today, and the Sirius apartment buildings with their concrete shoebox design almost got demolished last year, but as you can see from this image, that would be a loss of real unconventional rugged beauty.
No project like this would be complete without the Opera House of course, with Jørn Utzon’s Expressionist designed seashells rising above the water and drawing millions of visitors every year. Somehow they look even more impressive thanks to the pencil shading, don’t they?
Another building that definitely also benefits from this style of image is the Dr Chau Chak Wing Building at UTS Business School, which has been described as “the most beautiful squashed brown paper bag ever seen.” It’s certainly an odd-looking building that stands out from the crowd and the shading brings out it’s charm like it’s an illustration from a children’s fantasy story.
One Central Park is another building that definitely stands out and gets a magical feel when drawn in pencil, which can’t be said for many shopping malls around the world. The Rose Seidler House is a museum in a former home built by architect Harry Seidler for his mum, clearly inspired by the Bauhaus movement and that’s evident in the image here.
These images capture not only the different design styles on show in Sydney but also the diversity of cultures, with the Vat Khemarangsaram Cambodian Buddhist Temple amongst the most striking buildings featured, while the Auburn Gallipoli Mosque plays an important role in symbolising unity in Sydney and the majesty of both buildings really comes through in the line drawings.
Have these illustrations inspired you to plan a trip to Sydney to see some of the buildings in person? Which ones are on your list?
