ONE BARANGAROO

Pecking order

One Barangaroo is Sydney’s tallest skyscraper (275 metres).

The Sydney Eye Tower is in fact greater in height (310 metres) but is not a skyscraper.

Although One Barangaroo is Sydney’s largest skyscaper it is only the 4th tallest skyscaper in Australia. The largest is located on the Gold Coast, and positions 2 & 3 are held by buildings in Melbourne.

What’s in it

One Barangaroo is a 75 level mixed use venue containing a luxury resort with 349 hotel rooms and suites, 76 luxury residential apartments, retail shops, cafes, restaurants, bars and a casino.

Design concept

One Barangaroo was designed by a firm of Brittish architects, WilkinsonEyre, after winning an international design competition in 2013.

The brief was for a building that would create a landmark design of high quality, which would reflect Sydney’s vibrancy, relationship with water and its role as an international city.

Wilkinson Eyre’s design narrative is based on the concept of three petals. Two petals twist towards the sky whilst the third petal peeled off to the side and provides the bulk of the hotel accommodation.

When I look at One Barangaroo the concept of petals does not really hit me.

If the different sections are comparable to petals they are indeed very long petals. It is only after looking at early sketches that the idea begins to make more sense.

Features

What I do like about the building is as much as what it is not as what it is. It is not your standard rectangular skyscraper and the architect has gone to great lengths to avoid right angles.

Instead there are many turns, twists and curves.

If you walk around the building from street level it is not an easy shape to take in or describe.

One Barangaroo is an imposing building and by not being capable of simple definition it keeps you observing and guessing.

The provision of many discrete balconies for the apartments and the fact that the building narrows as it reaches its peak are both attractive features.

Who doesn’t like balcony access to fresh air in a high rise apartment.

When you look up from ground level it is noticeable that the balconies are aligned to compliment the buildings spiraling curves.

By narrowing the building as it approaches its pinnacle One Barangaroo does not overwhelm the surrounding environment.

The progressive drop in height of the completed next door buildings (One Sydney Harbour and International Towers) works well when you see One Barangaroo in the setting of other buildings in Barangaroo South.

This feature is particularly noticeable from a vehicle driving south on the Sydney Harbour Bridge. The buildings drop in a relatively sequential line to the east.

If you look at the building from the north west side the shape of the podium resembles the bow of a ship, (see photograph 5 below ).

The external glass provides for different reflections throughout the day depending upon the time and weather.

It can certainly sparkle in the afternoon when you look at it from the west as you drive into the city.

A visit to One Barangaroo is one of many places that are available to visit on Sydney Nimble’s Custom itinerary tour.

under construction 2019

a sleek finished product - other nearby buildings include One Sydney Harbour, International Towers and Barangaroo House

looking up from the front

sculpture in front of the hotel foyer

the bow of a boat?

the building sits above an expansive four level podium

curves, turns and twists

One Barangaroo in the distance with the soon to open Barangaroo metro station in the foreground

Barangaroo Reserve

Barangaroo is a 22 hectare inner city suburb of Sydney located on the north west side of Sydney’s CBD.

The suburb is named after an aboriginal woman who had a significant influence in early contact between Aboriginal people and British authorities. She has been described as a powerful woman and was a respected provider of food (fisherwoman). Her second husband was Bennelong. Unfortunately Barangaroo passed away shortly after giving birth to her daughter in 1791.

The adoption of the word Barangaroo as the name of this newly created suburb is yet another example of a distinctive indigenous word adding to the richness of Australia’s vocabulary.

Many of Sydney’s place names are derived from Aboriginal words (eg , Bondi, Collaroy, Coogee, Cronulla, Curl Curl, Kirribilli, Maroubra, Narrabeen, Tamarama and Woolloomooloo).

The urban renewal of Barangaroo has been a landmark project in Sydney for well over ten years. The area was formerly docklands and known as the ‘hungry mile’. It was a tough, competitive and sometimes violent place. Workers from the 19th Century until the 1940s were known to walk from wharf to wharf searching for low paid work.

Barangaroo includes a 6 hectare headland park (Barangaroo Reserve) which was completed several years ago.

A significant part of the urban redevelopment in this new suburb has already occurred, however a six star resort and several residential buildings are still at the planning stage or under construction. A metro station is planned for Barangaroo.

The reserve is essentially an artificial hill, but it doesn’t look like one. Its contouring with the harbour, terraced plantings and dimensions generally make it fit in with its surrounds. Clever engineering and earthworks have given it the look of a hill whilst allowing a large void, known as the Cutaway, to exist underneath the parkland above.

The roof of the Cutaway required the fabrication, transportation and installation of massive concrete spans, which underpin thousands of cubic metres of rock, soil, grass and trees.

The Cutaway provides a unique area for events, exhibitions, television shoots, concerts and large gatherings. It is 120 metres long, 45 metres wide and the height of a six storey building. Natural light enters the space through a long vent on its east side.

A large scale planting of native plants, shrubs and trees (75 000 in total) has been undertaken at Barangaroo Reserve and the horticulturalists have largely chosen native flora that existed in the area prior to European settlement.

An incredible amount of sandstone has been used around the foreshore and throughout the reserve, showcasing the attractive look of this beautiful local material.

Barangaroo Reserve is a pleasant green addition to the City of Sydney which will improve over time as the trees increase in size whilst providing a unique multipurpose area that can be used by all Sydneysiders.

Sydney Nimble Tours includes a Barangaroo tour in our Eastern Suburbs, Woolloomooloo, Barangaroo day out. Alternatively we can include a tour of Barangaroo in our Sydney Bespoke Tour.

Barangaroo Reserve fits in well with the Rocks and Walsh Bay

the three green towers that descend in height are known as the International Towers

it came from the purple tent - opening night of Vivid at Barangaroo

looking west from the Stargazer Lawn at Barangaroo Reserve