The two Sydney transformations that are reimagining what a corner shop can be

When architect Catherine Downie first visited a corner store in Camperdown in 1888, Chupa Chups and deodorants were competing with empty shop windows for Anticol and Soothers in the derelict space.

Neil Mackenzie encountered a similar situation when he bought a neglected corner shop in Marrickville. “It was almost unlivable,” said Mackenzie, architect and co-founder of Mackenzie Pronk with Heidi Pronk.

There were 17 businesses before them in this region, which dates back to 1890. The names and types of businesses followed the changing demographics of the area, with a number of grocers with very English names; Greek corner shops, including Con and Maria Prodromakis, which also sell hot food; auto repairs; and musician Phil Stack.

Now add the architect to this. In the case of Downie’s site in Camperdown, the builder may also be added to the list. The two corner store conversions include both residential and commercial space and are both shortlisted for NSW architecture awards.

Mackenzie says mall growth is destroying stores on nearly every corner in the city’s inner west. Many were boarded up: “People were hanging newspapers in the front room and that was it.”

These areas become more valuable as density increases and the value of local community life increases.

Corner spaces like his had become “a bit of a town square,” where people stopped to chat or look into the windows.

Both sites have been updated to provide much-needed residential and commercial space. They have however been shortlisted for different awards in the 2026 NSW section of the Australian Institute of Architects awards.

Downie North’s The Corner Shop in Camperdown has been shortlisted in the interiors and residential alterations and additions categories. Mackenzie Pronk of Make Projects, which owns the Crossroads site, was shortlisted in the sustainable and multi-housing categories.

Such corner spaces are “an architect’s gift,” said Downie, a co-founder of Downie North.

“They have access to air and sunlight, and they have three frontages instead of two very narrow fronts,” he said.

This allowed them to design a new interior around the “motion of the sun”.

Will Blackwell, owner of the Camperdown site and also owner of construction company BWM, said it was love at first sight. Having worked on many patio renovations, he knew the space would not be as dark as a traditional patio. It would also provide “a bigger canvas to do something a little more architectural.”

Mackenzie Pronk’s project retained much of the old building’s structure, while Downie retained the brick façade of the North Camperdown store but gutted its centre.

Downie North designed a new 100 square meter three-bedroom house that went up behind the old parapet and built a ground-floor office for Blackwell’s business that opened onto the street.

Blackwell insisted that some of the blue paint and old tiles on the exterior be kept as a reminder of the site’s history.

In Marrickville, Mackenzie said their project turns one thing into three. A one-bedroom unit was added above the corner shop, and a three-bedroom house for the co-owners (builder Tom Hume and designer Jos Tarr of Make Projects) was added above two rooms where the tradesmen once lived.

Mackenzie and Pronk love the corner store. The practice operated at another location nearby called Three Things. He was selling coffee, cakes and architecture.

Gallery boxes containing artworks were placed in the windows of the new Crossroads space, and the doors were often open so locals stopped to chat. “I love it when people stop and look at the gallery,” he said.

These conversations turn to questions about architectural projects that have sparked a long list of local projects; this is evidenced by the stacks of plans filed under M’s name for Marrickville at the studio.

Mackenzie said they planned the site so it could be easily adapted by future owners. There are built-in lofts in two garages and they have added extra plumbing and electricity to enable the site to be converted in the future into, say, a café or the garages into granny flats.

“Our time here is a small moment,” he said.

During construction, they put up a sign asking locals to guess what was coming: “A new bar? Goat cheese store? Surf shop brewery? Band rehearsal barber shop? Op shop? Miniature gallery? Zombie apocalypse gear? Dog gym? Onion distillery? Architect’s office? It could be all of the above, and it probably will be in the next 130 years.”

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