Milestone reached in Circular Quay development

Milestone reached in Circular Quay developmentAMP Capital has named Danish firm 3XN as the winner in its Design Excellence competition for the Bridge Street tower and masterplan architects for the Quay Quarter Sydney (QQS) precinct at Circular Quay.Following approval of the Stage 1 Development Application (DA) and the Local Environmental Plan being gazetted in June, AMP Capital invited six international architectural firms, including three Pritzker Architecture Prize-winning architects, to participate in the competition.Bordered by Bridge, Alfred, Young and Loftus Streets the total site covers approximately 11,000 sqm and will include the 49-storey, 102,000 sqm tower on the site at Bridge Street.According to AMP Capital, the masterplan for CQQ aims to create a diverse neighbourhood where Loftus Street will be a permeable, green pedestrian street, Young Street will be an activated retail and entertainment street and Phillip Street will be the civic, cultural and commercial component. Construction is set to commence in 2018.”Selecting a winning design for Bridge Street is a significant milestone for the project enabling AMP Capital to realise our vision and aspiration to transform this landmark site at Circular Quay into a vibrant destination and create a new business and lifestyle precinct,” said Louise Mason, AMP Capital managing director Office & Industrial.Kim Herforth Nielsen, Founding Partner and Creative Director 3XN said: “This project looks at the ‘high rise’ in an entirely new way from both the inside out and outside in.”The new tower will engage in an open dialogue with the city skyline and transform the Bridge and Alfred Street blocks into an exemplary international commercial address. We believe it will be a significant new addition to the cityscape.”Following design development of 3XN’s winning scheme, further Stage 2 DAs will need to be submitted in 2015.The AMP Centre is jointly owned by the Australian Core Property Portfolio (ACPP) and the AMP Capital Wholesale Office Fund (AWOF).