In Surry Hills, a new gallery from Roca Group is trying to do something slightly different. Rather than operating as a straightforward showroom, Sydney Gallery has been conceived as a space for exchange — somewhere architects and designers can engage with ideas as much as with products.
The project brings together Laufen and Roca within a two-level heritage building, reworked by DKO. The existing structure hasn’t been stripped back or over-polished. Instead, it’s been allowed to inform the atmosphere, with original elements retained and folded into a more contemporary spatial sequence.
What’s noticeable is how the two brands are kept distinct. The lower level, dedicated to Laufen, leans into a heavier, more tactile material palette. Concrete, muted tones and a certain solidity reflect the brand’s focus on ceramics and manufacturing — it feels grounded, and deliberately so.
Upstairs, the mood shifts. Roca’s spaces are lighter, more open, with softer forms and a looser spatial flow. There are references to its Mediterranean origins, but they’ve been adjusted to suit the local context.
The contrast between the two levels is what holds the project together. Moving through the gallery becomes a way of reading different approaches to design — not just stylistically, but in terms of how each brand understands the role of the bathroom in contemporary life.
Sydney Gallery also sits within a broader international network of Roca Galleries, which are set up less as retail spaces and more as forums. Talks, events and industry gatherings are part of the brief, and it shows in how the space has been planned. Sydney Gallery feels considered — less about selling a product, and more about setting up a conversation around it.
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