Basic HTML Version
The architectural form is
expressed as a series of
seemingly random, stacked
volumes of varying heights which
mediate between the context’s
diverse scales. Finely resolved
façade detailing, punctuated
with horizontal and vertical
shading, establish a balancing
counterpoint to the extroverted
Gehry-designed UTS building
located diagonally opposite.
Internally, the integrated fit-out
for TransGrid achieves a high
quality workplace that brings
together the disparate office
and engineering groups into an
effective, flexible and walkable
working environment. A naturally
ventilated balcony provides
access to an outdoor break space
in its centre, and the base building
and fit-out achieved 5 & 6 Green
Star Ratings.
changing daylight and mixed
mode ventilation. Surprisingly
delicate patterns are cut into or
formed out of robust materials
like steel and concrete, and
human scale and warmth are
established through the use of
tactile materials, colour, humour
and integrated artwork.
The external walls of the food
court are part operable and part
lined with cosy booths which
overhang and engage with the
street below. The adjacent major
highway has also been reclaimed
and turned into an eat street.
The client demanded local
steel with local manufacture
and secured the best of local
providers. As a result the building
is far more than a shopping
centre; it is the catalyst for the
revitalisation of a community.
The design, detailing, decoration
and construction establish a
new quality expectation for this
important regional city.
COMMERCIAL ARCHITECTURE
ARCHITECTURE AWARD
The most challenging sites
require great discipline to achieve
a simple, elegant solution.
The TransGrid Headquarters
represents the transformation
of vital city infrastructure into a
well resolved, restrained building
that creates value for its owners,
occupiers and the city.
The site sits on a pivotal junction
along the Ultimo Pedestrian
Network. The existing building
was provided for a commercial
office to be constructed above
it, but contemporary commercial
design has evolved well beyond
the planned central building. A
new rule book was required to
expand the footprint, establish
a side core and provide for
inter floor connecting stairs. A
collaborative approach achieved
an innovative structural and
services solution to achieve these
objectives, allow for an extra floor,
and to activate the pedestrian
streetscape with external glass
lifts, lobby, artwork and cafés.
Wollongong Central is a
testament to the value of long-
term vision and a willingness
to challenge the status quo. It
turns the traditional shopping
centre inside out to actively
engage with the community,
setting up a framework for the
future development of a dense
urban community, which includes
residents, students, retailers,
office workers and visitors.
The conceptual framework
for the design expanded well
beyond the plot boundaries to
redefine the civic axes, revitalise
adjacent streets and laneways,
and provide impetus for the
restoration of neighbouring
precincts.
The building fabric adjusts to the
time and the seasons, creating
an environment that responds
to its context. The undulating
forms of the soaring five-storey
internal timber street evoke the
multi level site, with constantly
Photography: Brett Boardman
Photography: Simon Grimes
TransGrid Headquarters
Bates Smart
The GPT Group’s Wollongong Central
HDR Rice Daubney
28