C25 Biomed Building Competition ::

Project Description::

The brief for the C25 competition required a building that would become the highly significant public face for the University of NSW campus. The site is directly adjacent to one corner of the formal entry to the Clancy Auditorium and Chancellery Forecourt and it has its main facade presenting to the High Street public domain.

Because of the constraints on the site, Tonkin Zulaikha Greer in conjunction with Budden Nangle Michael Hudson, proposed a building form generated by a series of inclined planes, producing an irregular wedge. The volume to the North is subtle, whilst that to the South, due to the 32° solar access plane, is overt.

The design progresses this overall approach to maximise the volume within the permitted envelope, whilst modulating the building where appropriate. The design language is extended to the refurbishment of the remaining buildings in the project, with the forms generated by both the existing structures and the shaping of the new elements between.

A visually engaging and dynamic and a thermally-efficient, organic cellular facade system was proposed that would also function as an iconic element defining the identity of this innovative facility.

The development unites research and learning environments in a flexible and at times seamless manner. The diverse working activities of research range from teaching, lab work, office write-up and administration to the “Club” space – a mixing of work and social activity, which is increasingly being recognised as an effective and important part of the working environment.