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

Background

Pier 2/3 is one of several historic wharves located at Walsh Bay.

They were built in the early 20th century (circa 1913-1920) and named after the chief engineer of the Sydney Harbour Trust and designer of the wharves, Henry Walsh.

The wharves had a number of uses including the storage and export of wool, distribution of general cargo and goods and docking of cruise-liners.

However by the 1980s the Walsh Bay wharves were locked up, no longer fit for purpose.

Wharf 4/5 was renovated in the mid 1980s and became the home of the Sydney Theatre Company and other dance and choir organisations.

Pier 2/3 had to wait a lot longer and was not fully renovated until late 2021. The pier opened to the public in March 2022.

Wharves 4/5 and 2/3 now make up what is known as the Walsh Bay Arts Precinct.

Brief comments on a few features

The vision for Pier 2/3 included the creation of rehearsal rooms, performance spaces and offices for the Australian Theatre for Young People, Australian Chamber Orchestra and Bell Shakespeare, plus 1800 square metres of event and commercial space.

The changes were required to maintain the heritage character of the wharf.

In interviews architect, Peter Tonkin, referred to the separate venues as boxes, in view of the need to ensure soundproofing of each venue.

Some of the new walls built within the wharf to accommodate these separate venues have had their impact reduced by floor to ceiling mirrors.

The idea was to make the walls disappear and the mirrors have the added benefit of making the entrance area appear larger.  

To access the venues take the stairs or lift. Upon reaching the next level you will encounter a good sized area dedicated to socialising before and after a performance, with a bar available for refreshments. An essential!

It is a pleasure to walk on timber floors and see chunky hardwood support posts and exposed timber beams, which are used as a feature in various locations. Look above the stairs as you walk down to the entrance area.

Ceiling heights have been subtly raised in different areas of the pier to accommodate lighting, sound and services equipment.

Outside features

The west facing side of Pier 2/3 has four separate fire stairs. It is a timber building!

Three of the four staircases lead to a viewing platform, which has been described as a contemporary interpretation of a gantry. Grand harbour views are available from the platforms.

If you look up as you approach the entrance way to Pier 2/3 from the east facing side you may observe a wharf artefact on display, being part of a hydraulic hoist or ram.

Muscular mooring bollards have been retained on the wharf particularly near the water edge but make sure you don’t kick one as they are heavy duty.

Youth theatre

The Australian Theatre for Young People has been named the Rebel Theatre in recognition of the extraordinary generosity of actor, Rebel Wilson.

Rebel provided a crucial piece of the funding puzzle by donating $1M to the youth theatre from a court case settlement.

A rebel with a cause!

Australian Chamber Orchestra performing area

This is a beautiful room that has attractive timber paneling, groovy entrance doors, a ceiling full of technology (mostly lights) and the ability to adapt to the audience’s size by allowing additional rows of seats to be introduced as required.

Final comments

The refurbishment of Pier 2/3 has created some fantastic new performing arts venues for Sydney.

The painstaking and extensive work undertaken has maintained the industrial ambience of the wharf and it is delightful to see a heritage wharf brought sympathetically back to life.

welcome to Pier 2/3

double crossed at the bathroom

wharf artefact is a part from a hydraulic hoist

stairs, gantry, ocean harvesters and the building is bird friendly (no spikes)

mirror mirage - how long is that corridor?

name in neon

take a seat and enjoy a chamber orchestra

The Sydney Opera House is located on a prominent point on Sydney Harbour and is a stone’s throw (maybe two) from the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

In 1957 Danish architect, Jorn Utzon, was chosen as the opera house architect from a field of over 200 contestants.

His design sketches were bold and inspiring. It was clear that the proposed building was going to be exceptional.

As with many ambitious plans reality kicked in and numerous modifications of the design were necessary.

This design process was pain staking and it was not until 1963 that the design was finalized.

The greatest challenge concerned the shape of the opera house’s most distinctive feature, large curved vaulted shells.

The shape had to have both structural integrity and the ability to be economically built.

Many shapes were tried ranging from parabolas to circular ribs to ellipsoids.

Ultimately the shape of the opera house’s shells was based on the dissection of a top of a sphere into segments.

One of the many interesting features of the opera house is that the shell walls curve and blend into the roof, joining at a central point.

Jorn Utzon did not want a flat roof and his desire for the opera house to be seen from all sides was satisfied by constructing the shells on an elevated platform (podium).

Due to the massive size of the shells the design had to allow for in situ construction, resulting in the shells being built piece by piece from precast concrete.

The final design chosen for the opera house is in the author’s opinion a significant enhancement of the original drawings, providing for a more upright and striking building, whilst still retaining the look of the original sketches.

Postscript

Whilst taking the photos for this blog Sydney Nimble came across the Sydney Opera Company’s principal soprano, Julie Lea Goodwin, who will be performing in the upcoming production of La Boheme at the Sydney Opera House.

Julie’s hair, make-up and art deco dress/ gown/ jewellery were exquisite. Nice to meet an opera singer at the opera house!

geometric shapes create an outstanding sculptural design

early afternoon light highlights zig zag patterns

art deco charm

the podium’s elevation vastly improves the display

Julie Lea Goodwin

The Chau Chak Wing Museum is a newly constructed building located at the University of Sydney and incorporates the university’s Art Collection, the Nicholson Museum collection and the Macleay Museum collection into one centralised location.

The building has a nice feel to it with plenty of natural light, soaring ceilings and an easy to understand layout.

Pleasant views of the area to the east of the building have been accommodated by the see through layout which includes large glass walls at the rear of the museum.

The collection in the museum can only be described as eclectic ranging from indigenous art to ancient Roman sculptures, Egyptian mummies, photographs and oil paintings. The variety of items on display reflects the range of artworks that have been donated to Sydney University over the decades.

A visit to the Chau Chak Wing Museum complements a visit to the University of Sydney’s wonderful historic building, the Quadrangle, which is a couple of hundred metres away across the lawn.

We recommend visiting both buidlings.

Entry to the museum is free and the museum is open 7 days a week. Check the website for times, as the weekend opening times are more restricted.

The Chau Chak Wing Museum is one of many options that can be included in a Sydney Nimble Tours bespoke tour.

walk this way

Coffee with your Roman?

see through design

pure style

We are happy to create a custom itinerary in any of our tours including highlights of Australian architectural history. Bronte House was built between 1843-1845 and the style of the building has been described as ‘Australian Gothic revival’. It is located a few hundred metres from Bronte Beach (a beach south of Bondi Beach).

Bronte House has some lush gardens which blend into the Bronte gully rainforest.  You could well be somewhere on the north coast of NSW.

Bronte House is only open on one or two weekends each year. From time to time the Waverley Council website posts the details of future opening dates.

The first picture is a view of Bronte House from the backyard followed by an image of a Moreton Bay fig as you look towards Bronte gully.

Moreton Bay figs are a native tree of Eastern Australian and have seriously large root systems. Definitely not a plant for the average backyard!

Bronte House from behind www.paullovelace.photography

Moreton Bay fig

Listed below are places that are often missed by visitors to Sydney. They pass our highly discerning ‘great place to visit’ filter:

• White Rabbit Gallery and neighbouring green building, Central Park

• Brett Whiteley Studio (Friday to Sunday)

• Sydney University

• Short walking tour of Balmain including the wharf area, Fenwick House and the dry dock

• State Library

• The Grounds of Alexandria

• Artisan distillery or microbrewery at or near the end of the day

All of these places are close to the city (within 10-30 minutes).

Why not check some or all of them out?

If you are interested let us know and we will reply with a day plan for your approval.

The minimum time is 4 hours, so pick at least three or four places. If you would like to select most or all of the above places the inner Sydney tour can be made into a longer day trip (6-8 hours). 

Personalise an existing tour

If one or two of the above inner Sydney destinations appeal to you we can include these in any one of our other existing tours (except for the Blue Mountains).

After you have advised which one or two places you would like included and the tour you would like adjusted we will send a revised day plan for your approval.

Sorry but Harry Potter was not filmed here - entrance to the Quadrangle at Sydney University

don’t forget your hat, Ewenton House, Balmain

Buildings don’t get any greener than Central Park, Chippendale

If you are walking through the side streets of the city you may come across an artwork called ‘Underwood Ark’. It is a suspended Blackbutt tree that appears to pierce through three pedestrian walkways located above Underwood Street. The large root system can also be seen from Dalley Street (a street that runs between George and Pitt Streets, not far from Circular Quay).

A person walking along Underwood or Dalley Street may be surprised when they come across Underwood Ark. Why is a large tree stripped of all bark hanging 10 metres above Underwood Street? Is it there to create a feeling of walking under wood?

The tree is 35 metres long, with an estimated age of two hundred years and weighs 18 tonne.

Underwood Ark was installed in 2017 and resulted from a collaboration between Mirvac and the National Art School. The tree was sourced from the South Coast of NSW.

The artist, Michael McIntyre, who sculpted the root ball explains in a vimeo that the concept behind Underwood Ark was to respond to the natural bush that once existed on the land and evoke a feeling of pre-settlement.

Blackbutt (Eucalyptus Pilularis) is a type of hardwood that is native to the east coast of Australia. The name Blackbutt originates from the base or butt of the tree being blackened after fires.

Underwood Ark is not only a novel artwork but a reminder that you never know what you may randomly find in the streets of Sydney.

Connection with pre-settlement

Sydney Open is presented by Sydney Living Museums and allows Sydneysiders and visitors to see 40 different buildings in the CBD of Sydney, over two days. Today (4/11/18) was the second and final day. Most of the open buildings would not otherwise be available for the public to inspect and enjoy.

The open buildings extend over a significant distance and it is not possible to see all 40 buildings in the 6 hour window period (10am-4pm). Difficult choices have to be made!

Of the buildings visited today by Sydney Nimble Tours the following were considered exceptional: 50 Martin Place; Baker McKenzie premises at Barangaroo (levels 44-46) and the AMP Building at Circular Quay.

Level 46 of Baker McKenzie’s premises provided outstanding views of Sydney, particularly to the south, west and north. Macquarie Bank is located at 50 Martin Place and provided access to wonderful art deco architecture on the ground floor whilst the rooftop area displayed sophisticated Australian artwork, super stylish boardroom and unique views of Martin Place.

The AMP Building has a box seat view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Sydney Opera House and Sydney Royal Botanical Gardens. The first photograph below was taken from the AMP Building; second and third photos are of 50 Martin Place foyer, fourth photo is Sydney Tower through the eye of a silver doughnut and the final photograph shows the turbulence created by a turning catamaran on Sydney Harbour.

https://sydneylivingmuseums.com.au/sydneyopen

Open Sydney - Art deco foyer of 50 Martin Place

Indigenous art and art deco staircase

Sydney Tower

Sydney Nimble Tours - wake of a catamaran on Sydney Harbour - photographed from level 46 of Baker McKenzie premises in Barangaroo