THE GRACE HOTEL, SYDNEY

Opening in 1930, the Grace Building has had quite the history. Originally built by the Grace brothers, owners of a sizeable retail empire, as a department store and office block, it faired badly during the depression as shoppers chose George Street as their therapeutic haven. It was requisitioned during the war as the South-West Pacific headquarters for Allied forces under General Douglas MacArthur. Afterwards the Commonwealth housed several government departments there until it was sold to a Malaysian company in the ‘90s who restored and re-opened it as the Grace Hotel in 1997.

if you happen to be in Sydney’s CBD you can wander down to York Street and pop into the lobby of the hotel where you’ll find this model behind a large perspex box because none of you can be trusted to not break bits off. It’s the largest thing I’ve ever built, which you can’t tell from these photos, so you’ll have to trust us, which isn’t something we usually recommend you do with things you find on the internet.