Bowral's Ngununggula gallery is one of 49 projects that have been named as a finalist in this year's National Trust (NSW) Heritage Awards.

The gallery has been recognised in the Adaptive Re-Use category, with six other buildings.

"We are thrilled, and feel honoured to be in the line up among many significant projects," said Ngununggula's director Megan Monte.

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"The project was over five years in the making, and the team included our architects, Tonkin Zulaikha Greer Architects (TZG) and builders, Richard Crookes Constructions."

The gallery is situated inside Retford Park, which was gifted to the NSW branch of the National Trust of Australia by James Fairfax AC in 2016.

A former dairy on the premises was converted into the gallery space, and the previous veterinary clinic was transformed into the Heath by Moonacres Café.

The Entry Pavilion, which houses the amenities, entrance, commissioned art by First Nations people, and classrooms for workshops, was constructed to connect the buildings together.

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TZG architect Brian Zulaikha said it was a "challenge" to transform the old buildings into a gallery, but it turned out to be a success.

He said the dairy and clinic had "porous brickwork", where "air could go in", which was unideal for storing and displaying artworks.

"[We] had to seal it completely," he said.

A TZG document which outlined the project, said "traditional methods" were also used for repairs across the historic properties.

A new road and street crossing also had to be approved to get to the gallery.

There are still tributes to the two buildings that can be spotted throughout the gallery and café.

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For instance, some plaster boards were "peeled away" to show the original walls, and attendees might see strips of grass on the floor to indicate where the cows were washed.

Mr Zulaikha said when he has worked on buildings, he has made sure to not "demolish" former structures.

"I always want to make sure some residue of the existing building appears, a visitor can feel the history of the building," the architect said.

"By nature, adaptive reuse is intrinsically more sustainable than new builds, however beyond this, efforts were also made to recycle materials such as timber, brick and metal roofing elements," the TZG document said.

"It's a fantastic contribution to the Southern Highlands to have a wonderful gallery there now", Mr Zulaikha said.

This year's winners will be announced on May 13 at Doltone House in Pyrmont.

This is not the only accolade the gallery could be bestowed with - Ngununggula has also been named in the NSW Architecture Awards 2022 Shortlist in the Heritage and Public Architecture categories.

The winners from the awards' 12 categories will be announced on July 1, via the Australian Institute of Architects' YouTube Channel.

Category winners will be in the running to win the NSW Architecture Medallion.

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