Architecture firm Grimshaw has been selected to design a new commercial workplace tower at 210-220 George Street, Sydney – it’s first A-grade commercial office development in Australia.

Bounded by Alfred, Pitt, Daley and George Streets and adjacent to the iconic Circular Quay area, 210-220 George Street will be part of an ensemble of new buildings, with Grimshaw seeking to capture the spirit of the transformation of this area with what the firm is calling a “unique human experience-led workplace tower, designed to attract the emergent ‘millennial worker’ for Sydney’s growing creative and knowledge based economies”.

“Sydney is uniquely placed to attract and retain 21st Century talent; we see the opportunity to create a leading-edge workplace that inspires the day-to-day working lives of its occupants, enlivens the public realm and adds vibrancy to city life,” Grimshaw managing partner Andrew Cortese says.

The 26-storey workplace will house 90 to 120 people across twin floorplates, while the larger floors will feature arching cantilevered terraces opening onto George Street. Within the high-rise, the smaller floors contain a suspended mezzanine with sunlit double height volumes.

This two-storey approach says the firm, offers the twin benefits of an increased lettable area of 1,100sqm, and at the same time, greater physical connectivity with more daylight and air circulation.

The west facing George street façade will also be composed of vaulting arched cantilevers and expressive concrete soffits, while a glazed vertical element will span the length of the tower and be set back to provide a tower lobby entrance off the corner of George and Daley Streets.

At the lower levels, a series of terraces with a range of biophilic elements will be used in order to take advantage of Sydney’s temperate climate, while the contiguous floorplate will provide the opportunity for a public art installation.

At the top of the building, there will be a reference to Opera House and its famous ‘sails’.

“With the addition of the Light Rail extending from Circular Quay along the George Street civic spine as well as the planned developments at Circular Quay, there exists within the northern CBD the opportunity to make a financial and creative hub of global significance for Sydney,” says Cortese.

Construction of the AUD$90 million tower is due to begin in early 2019, with completion expected in 2022.

Branko Miletic

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