ONE CENTRAL PARK
PROJECT INFO
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA
NEW CONSTRUCTION
MIXED USE RESIDENTIAL TWIN TOWERS ON A 5-FLOOR RETAIL AND HOSPITALITY PODIUM
728,000 SQFT (623 CONDOS)
AWARDS: CTBUH AWARD FOR BEST TALL BUILDING WORLDWIDE IN 2014
One Central Park is the main landmark tower of the Carlton & United Brewery redevelopment near Central Station in Sydney, Australia. The master plan strategy for this site is a sustainable, transit-oriented high-rise neighborhood centered around a new park that continues Sydney’s wise tradition of scattering green spaces within walking distance in every part of the city, and it also exemplifies a high-density urbanism that prioritizes open public spaces, life quality, and sustainable planning.
In order to make these priorities visible in the city at a distance, One Central Park elevates the park along its towering façades and irrigates it with its own recycled water. On the cooler South side, the park rises in a sequence of planted plateaus that are scattered like puzzle pieces in randomized patterns across the facades, so that each apartment has not only a balcony, but also its own piece of the park. On the warmer North, East, and West sides, the green takes a more continuous veil-like appearance with green walls, continuous planter bands and climbing vegetation. Here, the plants play a shading role, reducing glare and heat gains in addition to trapping Carbon Dioxide. The project hosts over 200 plant species that were selected by the French botanist Patrick Blanc for their contribution to the site’s biodiversity, as well as for their compatibility with each exposure-based micro-climate on the facades. The striking green appearance of the towers with its flowering seasonal fireworks fulfills the double role of delivering on the message and the performance of the project’s sustainable agenda.
In addition to the veil of vegetation, One Central Park features a second sustainable device that redirects sunlight to overshadowed areas of the park and terraces to the towers’ South. For this to work, the tower’s massing is broken up into a lower and a higher volume. On the roof of the lower tower, 42 sunlight tracking mirrors or heliostats redirect sunlight up to a giant reflector with 324 facets on a cantilever off the taller tower, which then beam the light down into areas that would otherwise be in permanent shade. The system adapts hourly and seasonally to the need for brightness and warmth. For instance, a large atrium in the tower’s podium is lit through a ponded skylight that functions like a heat sink in the summer and can be drained in the winter to benefit from the sun’s warmth when desirable. At night, the faceted reflector becomes a monumental urban chandelier and appears in the dark sky like a floating pool of tiny LED lights that merge into a single dynamic image.
Bertram Beissel was the design director and partner in charge of One Central Park for Ateliers Jean Nouvel.
