Image Credit : a+ design group
Project Overview
Enliven St Leonards with an iconic 65 storey tower, containing residential and commercial spaces, along with retail at the ground level. Urban planning was a key focus with the site providing a new community cultural centre, large public green-space and sky lounge.
Project Commissioner
Project Creator
Team
Tony Leung, Bing Qi, Chuan Fu, Eric Ly
Project Brief
North Sydney Council studied this site and identified our three combined sites as needing a coordinated master-plan. Charter Hall engaged us to create an Urban Plan that drew together several elements, to create a ‘sense of place’ and generate employment, along with new housing.
We surveyed locals and found that they felt St Leonards was “soulless, lacking identity, with no public space and very little retail.” We saw this as an opportunity to raise the bar for the whole district. The result became the ‘Oasis Art Precinct,’ a project that rejuvenates and refreshes, bringing together the wants and needs of the residents and workers.
We combined a large green space, cultural centre and bold tower to activate and entice new life. Our design creates a new community hub, supports jobs, maximises solar access with its neighbours and creates a vibrant and attractive public realm.
Our design inspiration behind the commercial and residential tower started at the podium, following the lines and height of the existing buildings and streetscape facing pacific highway. We then swept these lines around and upwards towards the sky, creating an effect of wrapping our building in dramatic vertical lines.
Project Innovation/Need
St Leonards is ear-marked as a “Global Economic Corridor” under state and local government policy, acknowledging this our towers façade fabric has been pushed up and lifted at the base to reveal green tiered office spaces.
We also established the need for a public domain and green open space. A large portion of our site is dedicated to these wishes. Starting at our towers crown, we have designed a Sky Lounge venue, which would encapsulate unparalleled views of the city, harbour, and district beyond.
Our large undulating grass area doubles as a green roof for the shopping centre underneath. There are skylights built in to this to provide a visual connection and save on lighting energy. The community green space is lifted at one end, adding a glass fronted children’s library and cultural arts centre, behind which sits a built-in amphitheatre.
Design Challenge
The site challenge was being at the centre point of where three different councils meet, (Willoughby, North Sydney and Lane Cove Councils merge beside our site). This made the planning much harder in terms of keeping our site within the streetscape. Good council communication continues to be at the forefront of this project. Along with a high-level understanding of public needs, (which was helped greatly by being local ourselves).
Sustainability
We have tried to engage as much sustainable design in to our masterplan as possible. The green roof is naturally insulating and also provides natural light. We have included the use of water recycling, solar energy and native planting. We have proposed trigen-energy, with electricity and gas combined to save costs, whilst simultaneously providing heating and cooling. We have pedestrianised Christie Street, thereby creating a car-free zone, cutting pollution around the site and encouraging people to find other transport means. We have also provided bicycle parking at the beginning of the pedestrian way, again encouraging a healthier lifestyles and alternative commutes close to the train station. This paved section could also house further entertainment areas and local produce markets.
Architecture - Proposed
This award celebrates the design process and product of planning, designing and constructing form, space and ambience that reflect functional, technical, social, and aesthetic considerations. Consideration given for material selection, technology, light and shadow. The project can be a concept, tender or personal project, i.e. proposed space.
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