Archinect - News

In the ‘battle’ for Sydney’s brutalist Sirius building, public interest loses

2024-06-25T08:00:00-04:00

A decade ago the only way to secure a bed in Sydney’s brutalist icon, the Sirius building, was a proven need and time on the social housing waitlist. Now the price of admission starts at $1.55m – for a studio apartment. [...] Advocates who fought to save the building from the wrecking balls and from being sold see it now as the pinnacle of privatisation that failed the state’s most vulnerable.

The fate of Sydney’s martyred Rocks mirrors closely that of London’s Trelick and Balfron Towers, and the future of Singapore’s once caste-busting social housing system. As of our last reporting, the brutalist landmark has (finally, and forever) been saved from the wrecking ball — only to be turned over to private equity. The issue highlights what many see as the death of a progressive conception of planning, wherein accommodations for working-class people are placed in the center of cities and not the other way around.

"Sirius is the pointy end of the privatization of the city and entrenching 'ghettoes for the rich'," architect Philip Thalis puts it. "It’s bad for society if the best parts of the city are exclusively for people with the most means, particularly when allied to decreasing densities in those areas."

Meanwhile, the New South Wales state government just announced a "once in a generati...

3XN and GXN offer insights into unique roof design behind Sydney Fish Market

2023-02-09T08:00:00-05:00

With construction underway on the 3XN-designed Sydney Fish Market in Australia, the firm has offered an insight into the design of the scheme’s defining roofscape. When completed, the 700,000-square-foot building will be the largest fish market in the southern hemisphere.

Image credit: 3XN

The building’s undulating roof is described by 3XN as “an integral aspect of the fish market’s iconic design” as well as being key to its overall sustainability strategy. Shaped to respond to the spatial demands of the market below, the roof is designed to harvest rainwater for reuse, protect retail spaces from the sun, and filter daylight through openings on the rooftop.

Image credit: 3XN

The shape of the roof was informed by the site’s prevailing winds, allowing the extraction of hot air while protecting users from southerly winds. Made from timber and aluminum, the roof is also designed to be as permeable as possible, minimizing the need for air conditioning while also deflecting direct sunlight....

Portland State University enlists Australian architect to develop Indigenous Center and surrounding oak savanna

2022-10-13T10:02:00-04:00

Kevin O’Brien, an acclaimed Indigenous architect from Australia, has embarked on a year-long collaboration with Portland State University. His involvement centers on the restoration of a campus oak savanna and the design-build of a facility at the site that will host the school’s Indigenous Traditional Ecological and Cultural Knowledge (ITECK) program.

O’Brien joins the University’s School of Architecture as its 2022 Distinguished Visiting Professor. He will lead a one-week Indigenous design methods workshop for undergraduate and graduate students. He will also meet with students in PSU’s Indigenous Nations Studies program, engage with architects from local firms, and host a public lecture. As stated on PSU’s website, “O'Brien will challenge students to rethink their assumptions about architecture's relationship to the land, how they imagine the city, and how we learn through doing.”

The Queensland-based architect works as a Principal at Australian practice BVN Architecture. He als...

Construction begins on SHoP's record-setting Atlassian HQ hybrid timber tower

2022-09-21T17:42:00-04:00

SHoP has begun work on the 39-story Australian Atlassian HQ project it says will eventually hold the title of the world’s tallest hybrid timber tower upon its completion in 2026.

The project for local Sydney developers Dexus combines mass timber elements with a diagrid steel tube exoskeleton and staggered glass envelope to achieve a 50% reduction in carbon emissions throughout the total 112,000-square-meter (1.2 million-square-foot) structure. It is envisioned as the anchor of Sydney’s new Tech Central district and will run completely on renewable energy sources according to Built, the Australian company serving as one of two main contractors for the $1.4 billion construction.

Image courtesy of Dexus

SHoP explains: “The tower is organized as six discrete but interconnected ‘habitats.’ Each four-level habitat is a freestanding mass-timber construction supported within the efficient steel exoskeleton. A naturally-ventilated zone, akin to an outdoor garden, is located at each level.”

I...

SHoP Architects to create world's tallest "hybrid timber" tower in Sydney

2020-06-25T17:09:00-04:00

New York City-based SHoP Architects and Australian technology company Atlassian have unveiled plans for a 40-story tall timber and steel tower slated for a new business-technology district in Sydney, Australia.

The 280-foot tower will be wrapped with a diagrid steel tube and staggered glass envelope that is set to include solar panels embedded within some of the frames. The designers of the project, CNBC reports, aim to run the building entirely on renewable energy and are projecting energy use levels at 50% below conventional new-build projects.

This loose-fitting envelope will encase a rhythmic arrangement of staggered floor plates and internal gardens that run up the height of the tower. The building's stepped top will also featured staggered terraces populated by trees.

BVN Architecture is serving as Architect of Record on the project, which is scheduled to break ground next year with estimated completion in 2025.