The Doss House

The Doss House is a whisky bar set within a heritage-listed building in Sydney's The Rocks precinct, a structure whose earlier lives took in an opium den, a gambling house, a bootmaker and a boarding house, with origins reaching back to the 1840s. buck&simple designed the bar to reflect that layered history and the mix of refinement and larrikinism that ran through the area's commercial and maritime years.

The boutique basement bar occupies four underground rooms and opens onto two light-filled courtyards. Custom whisky cabinets line the spaces in wall-to-wall American oak joinery, while exposed sandstone, original fireplaces and hardwood ceilings remain on show, set off by tanned antique leather furniture.

Because the building is heritage-listed, the work proceeded with no wall fixings, protective floor layers and detailing that preserves the original fabric throughout. The material palette respects construction methods typical of the period: brass detailing, textured timbers and warm diffused lighting over textured tapestries enrich rooms that carry 172 years of history. Antique mirrors, velvet banquettes and chesterfield sofas complete the spaces.

The brief responded to a shift towards smaller venues and a slower, more considered experience, alongside a renewed appetite for craft in both the making and the drinking of whisky.

The project measures 120 m2 across a single level and was completed in 2018.

Architect: Peter Ahern, buck&simple. Photography: Tom Ferguson.