Frank Gehry's first building in Australia, the Dr. Chau Chak Wing Building at the University of Technology, Sydney, has been completed. The building, primarily for use by the UTS business school, includes classrooms, a collaborative theater, a 240-seat auditorium, and a sculptural staircase made of stainless steel.
On the east and west sides of the building, there are different façades designed to represent the past and the present, in a way. The eastern façade is made of waved brick to reference the area's sandstone heritage, while the western façade is made of glass panels to remind viewers of the building's contemporary context, according to designboom.
The fluid brickwork of the eastern façade is comprised of 320,000 pieces made by hand. Some of the bricks protrude from the façade, creating a pattern within the structure's larger geometry. Five custom forms had to be made to achieve the fluid effect of the façade. The windows are gridded and project outward, presenting a contrast with the building's mass.
The name of the $180 million building comes from the Australian-Chinese businessman and philanthropist, Dr. Chau Chak Wing, who donated $20 million for its construction. Wing also donated $5 million for the creation of an endowment fund for Australia-China scholarships.
Photo credit: Andrew Worssam, courtesy UTS
Photo credit: Andrew Worssam, courtesy UTS
Photo credit: Andrew Worssam, courtesy UTS
Photo credit: Andrew Worssam, courtesy UTS
Related Stories
| May 18, 2011
Major Trends in University Residence Halls
They’re not ‘dorms’ anymore. Today’s collegiate housing facilities are lively, state-of-the-art, and green—and a growing sector for Building Teams to explore.
| May 18, 2011
Raphael Viñoly’s serpentine-shaped building snakes up San Francisco hillside
The hillside location for the Ray and Dagmar Dolby Regeneration Medicine building at the University of California, San Francisco, presented a challenge to the Building Team of Raphael Viñoly, SmithGroup, DPR Construction, and Forell/Elsesser Engineers. The 660-foot-long serpentine-shaped building sits on a structural framework 40 to 70 feet off the ground to accommodate the hillside’s steep 60-degree slope.
| Apr 13, 2011
Duke University parking garage driven to LEED certification
People parking their cars inside the new Research Drive garage at Duke University are making history—they’re utilizing the country’s first freestanding LEED-certified parking structure.
| Apr 12, 2011
Rutgers students offered choice of food and dining facilities
The Livingston Dining Commons at Rutgers University’s Livingston Campus in New Brunswick, N.J., was designed by Biber Partnership, Summit, N.J., to offer three different dining rooms that connect to a central servery.
| Apr 12, 2011
College of New Jersey facility will teach teachers how to teach
The College of New Jersey broke ground on its 79,000-sf School of Education building in Ewing, N.J.
| Mar 23, 2011
After 60 years of student lobbying, new activity center opens at University of Texas
The new Student Activity Center at the University of Texas campus, Austin, is the result of almost 60 years of students lobbying for another dedicated social and cultural center on campus. The 149,000-sf facility is designed to serve as the "campus living room," and should earn a LEED Gold certification, a first for the campus.
| Mar 18, 2011
Universities will compete to build a campus on New York City land
New York City announced that it had received 18 expressions of interest in establishing a research center from universities and corporations around the world. Struggling to compete with Silicon Valley, Boston, and other high-tech hubs, officials charged with developing the city’s economy have identified several city-owned sites that might serve as a home for the research center for applied science and engineering that they hope to establish.
| Mar 15, 2011
What Starbucks taught us about redesigning college campuses
Equating education with a cup of coffee might seem like a stretch, but your choice of college, much like your choice of coffee, says something about the ability of a brand to transform your day. When Perkins + Will was offered the chance to help re-think the learning spaces of Miami Dade College, we started by thinking about how our choice of morning coffee has changed over the years, and how we could apply those lessons to education.