This 8-storey office building is located on a prominent site on the north west corner of Cremorne. As a bookend to the block, the design response called for a strong and bold form. The project is a redevelopment of an individually significant heritage building, with the addition of a new tower. The project is a five-star green star building and is very much representative of Cremorne’s transition from light industrial to modern commercial.
Given the northern and western orientation of the site, a glass box would not have been an appropriate response, rather the façade system needed to be climate responsive, both mediating views and creating appropriate sun shading and light diffusion. This is achieved by breaking the façade up into a series of banks of fixed and operable shutters made of an expanded aluminium mesh with a silver anodised finish. These allow tenants to moderate views, temperature, sunlight and glare to suit their individual needs.
The ornate western heritage façade has been carefully restored, including reinstatement of original openings and period features. The simpler northern façade has been rebuilt with the original brickwork and laid with red mortar to reference the tuckpointed western façade. New full height openings framed in red metal trim replace original windows and activate the street with entry doors to the lobby and hospitality tenancies.
Multiple outdoor spaces have been incorporated into the design, including a rooftop pavilion and a terrace on level one. However, most prominent is a large void cut out of the north-western corner housing a mature olive tree, creating an outdoor terrace for level 6 and an outlook onto the canopy from level 7. The façade shutters open up with thin stainless-steel wire mesh extending the full height of the space, allowing occupants to stand at the building edge and experience the expansive views.
