Spark Architects has unveiled plans for a new development project to be located at the gateway to the coastal city of Wollongong.
The 35,000 sqm Bass and Flinders Gateway draws its inspiration from the Illawarra Escarpment and the ocean, which lay either side of the development site.
The mixed-use building consists of 300 residential units arranged as “coal measures” within linear stacked seams.
It is shrouded by the shape of a rolling silver wave that partly shades the apartments’ terraced gardens.
The project is being lead by Spark’s internationally renowned architect, Stephen Pimbley, who hopes the Gateway will become an iconic symbol for Wollongong.
Although the building is intended to be a landmark, according to Pimbley, it has not been designed to be an “island.”
Instead, the structure has been deliberately massed so that from a distance its profile complements rather than dominates the city’s existing architectural backdrop.
If Wollongong City Council backs the master plan and development application, the property will be developed by Malaysian-Australian consortium Gateway Wollongong.
Should it go ahead, the Bass and Flinders Gateway will be the first Australian project ever designed by Spark Architects and the first residential building to achieve a green star rating in Wollongong.
Construction on the project is scheduled to start in 2015.
Courtesy Inhabitat and Spark Architects
