flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

The Starchitect of Oz: New Gehry building in Sydney celebrates topping out

The Starchitect of Oz: New Gehry building in Sydney celebrates topping out

Sustainabile facility combines a complex façade with a trunk-and-branches organizational plan.


By BD+C Staff | January 17, 2014
The Dr Chau Chak Wing Building is Frank Gehry's first project in Sydney. All ima
The Dr Chau Chak Wing Building is Frank Gehry's first project in Sydney. All images courtesy Gehry Partners LLP.

The Dr Chau Chak Wing Building at the University of Technology, Sydney, will mark Frank Gehry's debut project in the Australian metro. The 12-story, $150 million project will serve the university's Business School and is being built by Lend Lease.

Gehry says the design, which is a bit reminiscent of his Stata Center at MIT, was inspired the trunk-and-branches arrangement of a tree. The main structure has been completed and work has begun on the façade--as usual with Gehry, a complex proposition. About 320,000 bricks will be hand-laid to achieve a crinkled effect, guided by extensive BIM analysis. The UTS civil engineering labs collaborated with Chinese partners to create and test prototypes for the brick work. The building's west side will feature huge panes of reflective glass.

As with many new Australian facilites, this one incorporates a green focus. High-performance glazing will combine with energy- and water-efficient engineering, including a 20,000-L rainwater tank. The building is aiming for 5 Star status in the Green Star sustainability certification program.

Part of a 10-year master plan for the campus, the Dr Chau Chak Wing Building is scheduled to be completed this year. 

Related Stories

| Jan 24, 2014

Urban Land Institute, Enterprise outline issues in rental housing shortage: Report

Bending the Cost Curve: Solutions to Expand the Supply of Affordable Rentals outlines factors that impede the development of affordable rental housing – causing the supply in many markets to fall far short of the demand.

| Jan 24, 2014

ZGF announces formal partnership with Vancouver's Cotter Architects

ZGF has announced the formal establishment of a Vancouver, British Columbia, presence in partnership with Cotter Architects.

| Jan 24, 2014

Structural concrete requirements under revision: ACI 318 standard

The American Concrete Institute (ACI), an organization whose mission is to develop and disseminate consensus-based knowledge on concrete and its uses, is finalizing a completely reorganized ACI 318-14: Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete.

| Jan 23, 2014

SMPS Announces Call for Entries for 37th Annual Marketing Communications Awards Program

The Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS) is accepting entries for its 37th Annual Marketing Communications Awards (MCA) competition. The MCA program is the longest-standing, most prestigious awards program recognizing excellence in marketing communications by professional services firms in the design and building industry. The entry deadline is March 3, 2014. SMPS members and nonmembers are eligible to enter.

| Jan 23, 2014

Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill-designed Federation of Korean Industries tower opens in Seoul [slideshow]

The 50-story tower features a unique, angled building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) exterior designed to maximize the amount of energy collected.

| Jan 23, 2014

Think you can recognize a metal building from the outside?

What looks like brick, stucco or wood on the outside could actually be a metal building. Metal is no longer easily detectable. It’s gotten sneakier visually. And a great example of that is the Madison Square retail center in Norman, Okla.

| Jan 23, 2014

3 fatal flaws your architecture firm has right now

After visiting over 200 architecture firms, I was aghast that so many of them were committing these costly sins of mismanagement and miscommunication, without even realizing it. If I can stop even one more firm from shooting its own foot, then this is worth it.

| Jan 22, 2014

SOM-designed University Center uses 'sky quads,' stacked staircases to promote chance encounters

The New School's vertical campus in Manhattan houses multiple functions, including labs, design studios, a library, and student residences, in a 16-story building.  

| Jan 22, 2014

Architecture Billings Index sees first back-to-back decline since mid-2012

The AIA's Architecture Billings Index dipped for the second consecutive month in December—the first consecutive months of contraction since May and June of 2012.

| Jan 21, 2014

Comcast to build second Philadelphia skyscraper, with Norman Foster-designed tower [slideshow]

The British architect last week unveiled his scheme for the $1.2 billion, 59-story Comcast Innovation and Technology Center, planned adjacent to the Comcast Center. 

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category


Urban Planning

Bridging the gap: How early architect involvement can revolutionize a city’s capital improvement plans

Capital Improvement Plans (CIPs) typically span three to five years and outline future city projects and their costs. While they set the stage, the design and construction of these projects often extend beyond the CIP window, leading to a disconnect between the initial budget and evolving project scope. This can result in financial shortfalls, forcing cities to cut back on critical project features.



Libraries

Reasons to reinvent the Midcentury academic library

DLR Group's Interior Design Leader Gretchen Holy, Assoc. IIDA, shares the idea that a designer's responsibility to embrace a library’s history, respect its past, and create an environment that will serve student populations for the next 100 years.

halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021