SOM-designed mixed-use tower opens in Sydney

SOM, Architectus, and Dexus Property Group recently completed work on 100 Mount Street, a new 39-story glass-enclosed tower in Sydney’s Central Business District.

The tower’s design was inspired by Sydney’s architectural landscape, but is evocative of another SOM-designed building half a world away: Chicago’s John Hancock Center. 100 Mount is supported by a cross-braced exoskeleton structure and anchored by an offset core. It is clad in a glass curtain wall which enables views of Sydney Harbour, the Sydney Opera House, and Sydney Harbour Bridge.

At the ground level, the building’s offset core allows for a series of open-concept spaces, such as a commercial lobby, café, and restaurant. Outside in the landscaped public plaza, cascading steps and inclined pathways provide visitors with access to new street-level retail. The retail storefronts are located along Walker Street, while street level activity continues around the corner of Mount Street and into the through-site link. A pedestrian pathway bisects the site to connect the building to public transit.

In addition to the building’s automatic daylight control and glare reduction, chilled beam systems help to reduce the building’s environmental footprint. 100 Mount Street is targeting 5-star ratings on the Australian Green Star and National Australian Built Environment Rating Systems. The International WELL Building Institute has awarded 100 Mount Street the WELL Core & Shell Gold Pre-certification.

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SOM served as design and structural architect. Architectus was the architect of record, Enstruct was the engineer of record, and Arup was the MEP engineer.