Project Overview
Competition scheme for a residential building at the north west corner of Hyde Park in central Sydney. The project site is significant, marking an important civic transition between the quietude of the park and heritage listed St James Church and courts to the south, and the intensity and density of the city core to the north.
The council approved building envelope for the site included a setback at mid level, an outcome of generically applied planning controls which are inconsistent with the Hyde Park context. Our scheme challenged this position, and proposed a building form with a unified southern facade that created a singular and composed building expression as a calm backdrop to the historic church and courts. The proposal is inspired by its place, and exhibits simplicity, elegance and above all, appropriateness.
Project Commissioner
Project Creator
Team
Simon Fleet, Sean Choo, Ruth Kealy, Doug Hammersley, Cho Ling, Lorelle Yap
Project Brief
The project brief was simple. A beautifully crafted residential building that rises above an activated ground plane. A building that responds positively to its setting and encourages public interaction and engagement at street level.
Project Innovation/Need
A key area of innovation lay in the façade expression of the building. We worked very closely with international Engineering group Inhabit Engineers to shape a bespoke façade that was finely crafted, contextually appropriate and classically contemporary.
The building frame proposed a system of prefabricated and profiled GRC panels.
The tonality of the base mix to the GRC reflects the sandstone character of central Sydney, whilst the face mix added reclaimed sandstone chips from the site excavation to provide a small degree of tonal and textural variation across the surface. The result is a building frame that is bespoke to the project and specific to its context and place. The slightly polished facade surfaces encouraged a subtle play of light and reflectance across the building faces, simultaneously reflecting its context, its heritage setting and the life of the street below.
Another area of innovation was the central atrium. Introduced as a means to draw air through individual apartments, it also created the opportunity to throw natural light deep into the heart of the building and provide outlook and generosity the residential lobbies and circulation spaces.
Design Challenge
The principle design challenge was how to conceive a building form that maximized the latent possibilities of the site – sunlight, views and amenity – whilst also how to craft a coherent and timeless architectural expression as an appropriate backdrop to the historic King Street courts and St James church in the foreground.
Our response to these opposing conditions can be captured in three key moves:
The first move pushed the top of the building inwards. This move significantly increased the solar opportunity of upper level apartments - a core local planning requirement for apartments within the City.
The second move inverts the first, pushing inwards the southern edge of the building base. This maneuver greatly increased the generosity of the ground plane. It also opened up new view corridors along both Elizabeth and Phillip Streets, enhancing the visual connectivity between the pedestrian and the heritage precinct.
The final move was the gentle inward and outward nudging of the southern façade, facilitating the creation of a slender, classically proportioned and unified building face.
Sustainability
The proposal adopted a systematic approach to sustainability, with the primary intent of creating a building that performs well whilst also being comfortable and desirable to live in. Some of the notable moves included;
Passive shading
Utilising the deeply modulated building facade to provide a high degree of passive shading from morning and afternoon summer sun.
Cross ventilation
Achieving effective cross ventilation, driven by the natural stack effect of warm air moving upwards through the full height building atrium allowing every apartment opportunity for cross ventilation.
Building lobbies
Lobbies and associated common circulation spaces were carefully designed to allow air movement to and from the building atrium. Spaces were washed in natural light, enhancing amenity, safety and social interaction whilst also reducing base building energy costs.
Solar reflectors
Incorporating an innovative light reflection system at the top of the building, redirecting northern light down through the full depth of the atrium via a series of polished brass reflectors. Each reflector was designed to automatically track the sun for maximum operational efficiency, whilst also providing an engaging visual expression to the northern building façade.
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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