Major development will continue at Sydney Olympic park with Bates Smart submitting a fresh proposal for a 25,000sqm mixed-use project for the growing precinct.
The proposal is for Site 9 within the Sydney Olympic Park Authority’s (SOPA) masterplan and consists of two buildings, one residential and one commercial, demarcated on the ground floor by a pedestrian link.
Both towers will have retail/club tenancies on ground level and four and a half levels of above ground car parking which will have open joints to allow for natural ventilation. The residential tower which has a distinct boomerang shape will comprise 32 residential floors while the commercial tower will feature two levels of office and a communal roof garden.
Bates Smart made significant alterations to the original SOPA masterplan for Site 9 which proposed two towers above a consistent podium. At 104 metres in length, Bates Smart was concerned that the long podium would create an imposing presence on Olympic Boulevard so instead opted to divide its mass in two. Similarly, the architects felt the two-tower form could create proximity issues and weakened the reading of Olympic Boulevard as a consistent street wall with separated towers above. Instead, Bates Smart has taken out the office tower set back and reduced its height.
Before and after: original SOPA masterplan (left) compared to Bates Smart plans for Site 9
Bates Smart final concept
The residential tower has been curved at the corners to maximise solar benefit and minimise downdraft and wind impact to the public domain, and has been brought completely to the ground on one of its corners to enhance the identity of the tower and define its entry.
According to Bates Smart, both the tower and podium facades aim to complement each other while simultaneously reinforcing their individual identity. They’re both articulated vertically into six stacked volumes, separated by expressed horizontal bands of concrete. These bands define a single storey scale to the podium building that reinforces the podium’s horizontality.
The podium facade is clad in terracotta panels in a zigzag fashion and features a larger profile expressed slab edge while the residential tower will feature aluminium fins in the same terracotta colour.
Above: façade detail for office levels
Below: façade detail for carpark levels
The fins on the residential tower are arranged in a 2:1 rhythm, which Bates Smart says will combine with a staggered window arrangement to provide animation and movement to the façade.
Above: façade detail for residential tower
The project is targeting a 6 star Green Star rating for office fitout (under separate DA). The energy requirements for the commercial offices will be offset by a 100kW photovoltaic array installed as a shade structure to the adjacent car park.
Eighty per cent lighting in apartments to be LED or fluorescent lighting.
Images: Bates Smart
