How Sydney's AMP Quay Quarter Tower went above and beyond - and onto the world stage | Kanebridge News
Kanebridge News
Share Button

How Sydney’s AMP Quay Quarter Tower went above and beyond – and onto the world stage

The landmark building has been awarded an international architecture prize for its ‘radical sustainability’

By Robyn Willis
Wed, Nov 9, 2022 9:49amGrey Clock 3 min

T o understand the level of detail involved in the design and construction of the 50-storey Quay Quarter Tower, you need to know about the cab ride Dan Cruddace, project director from BVN, and project architect Fred Holt for 3XN took early one morning across Sydney Harbour Bridge.

“It was 2016 and we were trying to address solar radiance from the building,” Dan says. “We realised that for two hours from 6am from April to September, the reflectivity in one spot of the tower could potentially blind some of the drivers on the bridge.”

After their run across the bridge, they modified the design of a select number of windows on the upper block of what was best known to most Sydneysiders as the AMP building, now Quay Quarter Tower.

“We developed a system of tilting the glass on the upper block by 2.3 degrees which resolved that issue,” Cruddace says.

It’s a testament to the attention to even the smallest details of this complex build that appears as a series of five stacked ‘boxes’, each slightly pivoted to manage light, connectivity between floors and the challenging topography of the Circular Quay site.

Award-winning local architectural firm BVN were chosen to partner with Danish firm 3XN, who won the international design competition for Quay Quarter Tower, partnering with construction giant Multiplex, to transform the AMP building, constructed in 1976, while retaining as much of the original building as they could. 

Now the building has been recognised for its approach to sustainable building practices, with the announcement of the International High Rise Award in Frankfurt overnight. Rather than demolish the building completely, as part of the construction process, 7500 tonnes in carbon dioxide emissions by saving the southern side and core of the building.

Although AMP is the ‘anchor tenant’ for the building, several businesses, including Deloitte, have signed on to lease space, with the building expected to be fully occupied by mid 2023. 

Cruddace says the team were very aware of the building’s place in Sydney’s story, in every sense.

“It’s at the front door of Sydney and Australia in terms of world precincts and connectivity to the harbour – it had that kind of gravitas,” says Cruddace. “It’s a once-in-a-generation project.”

Positioned in front of the historic Museum of Sydney, with the newly opened Quay Quarter Lanes to its left, visitors and office workers within are always aware of their neighbourhood, thanks to a skilful manipulation of levels and glazing so carefully crafted to control the worst of the summer sun from every angle that no blinds are required. Instead, occupants of each floor can appreciate views of nearby buildings – historic and contemporary – as well as through lines to the harbour and the iconic bridge.  

“It’s an amazing site but the original building had so many problems with it in terms of layers of poor planning and permeability and there were real issues with the topography,” Cruddace says.

The rotation of the ‘boxes’ also allow for outdoor terraces populated with landscape design by ASPECT so that, even on the 30th floor, bees can be seen hovering over the flowering plants on the terrace.

If there is a recurring theme in this project, it’s connectivity. Every aspect of this building, from the market hall designed by UK designer Tom Dixon at street level, to the natural site lines to surrounding buildings and the harbour, to the stunningly sculptural spiral staircase that links several office floors, has been considered in terms of its relation to  the other elements.

At the same time, spaces allow for intimate gatherings, private meetings or even solitude. It’s clear that at the heart of this project is the people who use it, whether they’re staff familiar with the layout or casual visitors to the retail spaces at street level. 

Holt says it has raised the bar for what high rise buildings can and should be.

“The expectation previously for high rises was that they were just for providing efficiently stacked workspaces,” he says. “And they still have to be there. But users are expecting the experience to be engaging and to have spaces for collaboration and all those things that make us feel human.”

The team of BVN and 3XN have also won the design competition for Sydney Fish Market, an equally complex site due for completion in 2023.

For more stories like this, order your copy of Kanebridge Quarterly magazine here 



MOST POPULAR

Chris Dixon, a partner who led the charge, says he has a ‘very long-term horizon’

Americans now think they need at least $1.25 million for retirement, a 20% increase from a year ago, according to a survey by Northwestern Mutual

Related Stories
Lifestyle
Claude Monet Water Lily Painting, Never Shown Publicly, Could Fetch at Least $65 Million
By ABBY SCHULTZ 01/10/2023
Lifestyle
Can a Rug Make a Room Look Bigger? Is Wall-to-Wall Ever OK? Your Carpet Questions, Answered
By MICHELLE SLATALLA 30/09/2023
Money
Frank Stella’s ‘Abra I’ to Lead at Christie’s Post-War to Present Sale
By Casey Farmer 29/09/2023
Claude Monet Water Lily Painting, Never Shown Publicly, Could Fetch at Least $65 Million
By ABBY SCHULTZ
Sun, Oct 1, 2023 < 1 min

A water lily painting by Claude Monet of his Giverny gardens is expected to achieve at least US$65 million at Christie’s November sale of 20th-century art in New York

Le bassin aux nymphéas, or water lily pond, painted around 1917 to 1919, is a monumental canvas extending more than six-and-a-half feet wide and more than three-feet tall, that has been in the same anonymous private collection since 1972. According to Christie’s, the painting has never been seen publicly.

The artwork is “that rarest thing: a masterpiece rediscovered,” Max Carter, Christie’s vice chairman of 20th and 21st century art said in a news release Thursday.

A first look at this thickly painted example of Monet’s famed and influential water lily series will be on Oct. 4, when it is revealed in Hong Kong.

The price record for a Nymphéas painting by Monet was set in May 2018 for Nymphéas en fleur, another large-scale work that had been in the collection of Peggy and David Rockefeller. That painting sold for nearly US$85 million.

The current work for sale is guaranteed, Christie’s confirmed. The auction house did not provide further details on the seller.

MOST POPULAR

Chris Dixon, a partner who led the charge, says he has a ‘very long-term horizon’

Americans now think they need at least $1.25 million for retirement, a 20% increase from a year ago, according to a survey by Northwestern Mutual

Related Stories
Property
More loss, less profit for short term property holders
By KANEBRIDGE NEWS 22/09/2023
Money
How Candid Can You Really Be With Your Boss?
By RACHEL FEINTZEIG 26/09/2023
Property
Friday on my mind: The workers avoiding the CBD
By KANEBRIDGE NEWS 26/09/2023
0
    Your Cart
    Your cart is emptyReturn to Shop