Centrepoint Design Excellence Competition ::

Project Description::

In 2006 TZG was invited, with 5 other locally and internationally renowned architecture firms, to enter a design excellence competition for the redevelopment of Westfield’s Centrepoint and Imperial Arcade retail centres, the reworking of 100 Market Street and the design of a new tower. The design integrates retail and commercial development, based on the creation of a podium design which accommodates high-exposure tenants, maximises street front legibility and activity, and creates positive relationships to the surrounding context of both heritage and newer buildings.

In order to create a “world retail icon”, TZG’s design focused on the analysis of context and the site. The proposal achieved architectural resolution in its complex shifts of form and scale, by the creative ordering of its parts and the integration of complementary architectural “orders”. The proposal synthesises four ordering systems, each of which is suited to the scale of the different forms of the building. The Urban Order was defined by analysis of the street pattern and urban relationships; the Retail Order modulates the shopping tenancies; the Civic Order relates to the public realm within the development and the Centrepoint Order responds to the scale and pattern of Sydney Tower in relation to the taller elements of the new buildings. An appropriate level of urban complexity was thus achieved from the relatively large and straightforward functions of the Centre, ensuring both sustained visual interest and unity to this very large development.

To assist in the creation of a functional public domain, the design considered climate and views, amenity and sense of place, strengthening edges, enlivening spaces by the spill-out of activity, and increasing the connectivity of the whole precinct. The design complied with strict environmental regulations utilising green roofs, passive ventilation and capitalising on the environment’s natural power for heating and cooling.