HASSELL wins Martin Place design competition

HASSELL wins Martin Place design competitionFollowing a three-month design competition involving six local and international architects, HASSELL has been selected to design a new office tower at 60 Martin Place in Sydney’s CBD. The City of Sydney last week approved the planned redevelopment of the site by Investa Office and Gwynvill Group. The site occupies a prominent corner location and will provide easy access to Macquarie Street, Phillip Street and Martin Place itself.”This is a site with a front-row seat at the centre of Sydney’s skyline,” says Tony Grist, HASSELL’s head of Design – Architecture and design team leader for the project. The planned development will maximise views of the Sydney Opera House, Royal Botanic Gardens and Sydney Harbour.The development will comprise a 32-level office tower with a lettable area of more than 40,000 sqm. It will be designed to achieve a 6 Star Green Star – Office rating and a minimum 5 Star NABERS Energy rating. Grist says the development will respect the neighbouring heritage-listed St Stephen’s Uniting Church and link with existing facades in Martin Place.”At street level on Martin Place the building will feature a low-scale podium, formed of Sydney sandstone blades, with the tower rising behind it. The sandstone solidity and copper spire of St Stephen’s Uniting Church has been a strong influence on the form of the new tower,” he says.”The building’s striking northern facade is a fluid, curved form. As the building rises, the curve pulls back from the spire, giving it ‘breathing space’, before curving again. From street level the image of the spire will be reflected and scattered in the facade.”The design competition followed a pre-feasibility phase, led by HASSELL, which defined the urban design and commercial parameters for the competition brief. Construction is expected to be completed in early 2019.”The HASSELL proposal provides a unique, landmark building which will add vitality and quality to the mix of buildings in the CBD, while responding to the individual requirements of the site,” said Mark Tait, general manager Commercial Development at Investa Office.