Restoring the golden years of cinema
The Piccadilly is an iconic cinema on North Adelaide’s famous O’Connell Street. Our client’s vision was to restore the outdated heritage building to its original art-deco style, creating a hub for culture and entertainment and a blend of theatre, arthouse, and mainstream films for Wallis Cinemas.
The brief
With the last renovation back in the early 1990s, the building needed an upgrade with a careful and considered approach to preserve its heritage features. The original scope of works included the restoration of the building’s art-deco roots and the addition of a bar area as an additional revenue stream and venue for alternative products such as film and arts festivals, making it stand apart from the Wallis brand and other mainstream cinemas. Making the building fully functional and accessible was another key objective.
PBS was very knowledgeable and responsive to our needs and helped us navigate the complex process of restoring the building to its former glory. Their guidance was invaluable in ensuring that the restoration project was a resounding success.
Ben Huxtable, CEO
Wallis Cinema
Our premier solution
The project included:
- Newly designed bar, candy bar and dining area with two lifts to provide disabled access to each cinema
- Renovation of the downstairs and upstairs foyers, the spiral staircase, and the male and female toilets
- Seamless integration of numerous historical and modern features, including tiles, terrazzo flooring, timber panelling, joinery, and feature glass
Preserving and celebrating heritage features
Together with local design and engineering firms, we created a distinct art deco-inspired concept to preserve and celebrate the Piccadilly’s outstanding features. We took great care to ensure an exemplary standard throughout the internal structure whilst integrating safety and accessibility requirements and creating a memorable experience for the patrons.
In the bar area, we utilised booth seating to maintain the historical façade and strategically concealed the post-mix supply python within the custom joinery and existing building components. To reduce noise and heat load, we employed innovative restoration technologies and toughened glass to the existing window line, allowing us to preserve the original timber door and window frames.
Other areas where we had to protect and maintain the original building fabric included 38-year-old carpets and original terrazzo flooring, ceiling troughs and architraves, and cornice details around the newly installed lifts. Closely adhering to Heritage SA’s guidelines, we engaged specialised tradespeople to replicate the original finishes where required.
Dealing with challenges and safety issues
During the restoration, several challenges arose that caused unexpected changes to the cost and timeline. The placement of the lifts had to be changed to more appropriate locations, necessitating additional structural support for the ceiling of the candy bar. And the decision to update the bathrooms, which was not included in the original project scope, put further pressure on the budget and deadline. However, PBS was able to tackle these challenges and find the best solutions to keep delays to the project and cost increases to a minimum.
Likewise, we took great care with our safety management systems. PBS is ISO-45001 certified and monitors WHS performance via site inspections, audits, hazard reports, and overall worker and contractor participation. The indoor demolition works also required us to manage exposure to crystallised silica, and we introduced air monitoring systems, ventilation controls, filtered extraction systems and respiratory PPE to ensure the safety of all personnel.
A reliable partner with excellent workmanship
The Piccadilly Cinema holds more than purely commercial significance for the Wallis family, and so it was critical for us to develop a strong client relationship. Throughout the redevelopment, we demonstrated exceptional workmanship and delivered work that exceeded the expectations set forth by the client. We conducted regular stakeholder meetings with the Wallis Group and welcomed them on the building site to discuss progress and changes. Despite some big changes in scope during the project and 16 different variations, we managed to stay as close to budget as possible and needed to extend the timeline by merely two weeks. To finish a project of this stature and incorporating additional works within 19 weeks was a massive accomplishment.
PBS showed great flexibility and adaptability in making sure that any changes were made in a way that was in the best interest of the project and that all work was completed to a high standard, despite the challenges that arose along the way. Overall, they are a highly nimble and adaptable partner.
Ben Huxtable, CEO
Wallis Cinema
The outcome: A stellar job made for the movies
Restoring the Piccadilly Cinema to its art-deco roots was a journey marked by challenges and tight deadlines, but an ultimately rewarding experience for both the client and the project team. From electrical work to tiling, every aspect of the project was managed with care and attention to detail, resulting in a seamless final outcome.