Danish-based architect 3XN announced that it has won the commission to design Quay Quarter Tower at 50 Bridge Street, a 200-meter mixed-use high-rise near the city's iconic Opera House.
The project represents the first major project designed by a Danish architect in Sydney since Jørn Utzon designed the landmark Opera House in 1973.
The tower comprises a series of shifting glass volumes stacked upon each other. By dividing the building into five separate volumes and placing atria throughout each volume, the spaces become smaller, more intimate social environments, encouraging building occupants to connect and interact.
Rather than face directly into the adjacent building at 33 Alfred Street, the lower levels of the tower are angled west to capture the energy and movement from the surrounding neighborhood. As the building rises, the northern façade shifts to the east enhancing the views.
Rotating the tower also creates a collection of exterior terraces that are directly linked to the multi-level interior atria, which will contain shared amenity spaces for tenants in each block. These common amenity spaces provide stunning views both vertically and horizontally and bring daylight deep into workspaces while promoting collaboration and interaction.
“This project looks at the high rise in an entirely new way, from both the inside out and outside in,” said Kim Herforth Nielsen, Founding Partner and Creative Director of 3XN. “Its dynamic, shifted massing maximizes views for all of the building’s users while also creating expansive open spaces that encourage the possibility for interaction, knowledge sharing and vertical connectivity.”
The firm teamed with Arup to design the building for developer AMP Capital.
Related Stories
| Apr 25, 2013
Colorado State University, DLR Group team to study 12 high-performance schools
DLR Group and the Institute for the Built Environment at Colorado State University have collaborated on a research project to evaluate the effect of green school design on occupants and long-term building performance.
| Apr 24, 2013
More positive momentum for Architecture Billings Index
All regions and building sectors continue to report positive business conditions
| Apr 24, 2013
North Carolina bill would ban green rating systems that put state lumber industry at disadvantage
North Carolina lawmakers have introduced state legislation that would restrict the use of national green building rating programs, including LEED, on public projects.
| Apr 24, 2013
Los Angeles may add cool roofs to its building code
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa wants cool roofs added to the city’s building code. He is also asking the Department of Water and Power (LADWP) to create incentives that make it financially attractive for homeowners to install cool roofs.
| Apr 23, 2013
Building material innovation: Concrete cloth simplifies difficult pours
Milliken recently debuted a flexible fabric that allows for concrete installations on slopes, in water, and in other hard to reach places—without the need for molds or mixing.
| Apr 23, 2013
Architects to MoMA: Don't destroy Williams/Tsien project
Richard Meier, Thom Mayne, Steven Holl, Hugh Hardy and Robert A.M. Stern are among the prominent architects who on Monday called for the Museum of Modern Art to reconsider its decision to demolish the former home of the American Folk Art Museum.
| Apr 22, 2013
Top 10 green building projects for 2013 [slideshow]
The AIA's Committee on the Environment selected its top ten examples of sustainable architecture and green design solutions that protect and enhance the environment.
| Apr 19, 2013
Is LED lighting keeping its promises?
Lighting experts debate the benefits, drawbacks, and issues related to specifying LED fixtures.
| Apr 19, 2013
Must see: Shell of gutted church on stilts, 40 feet off the ground
Construction crews are going to extremes to save the ornate brick façade of the Provo (Utah) Tabernacle temple, which was ravaged by a fire in December 2010.