Not long ago, when I first stepped foot in Sydney, I came across an unusual building from afar. It was "One Central Park" designed by Ateliers Jean Nouvel and PTW Architects as a compelling contribution to the city. Given the a large cantilever canopy hover across the building along the skyline of the city, it is hard not to take noticed.
Image Source : http://www.verticalgardenpatrickblanc.com/realisations/sydney/one-central-park-sydney
" A flower for each resident, and a bouquet to the city"(Bertram Beissel, n.d). One central Park is a statement in redefining urban green living and a striking reminder that nature could thrive within a bustling city of Sydney. It comprises of 623 apartments in two adjoining towers linked by a recreation podium as a center for social activities. Despite being homed to 623 apartment units, it is also home to 38,000 indigenous plants that is estimated to save the equivalent of 136,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emission over 25 years.
Being an addition towards the Opera House, the external green wall creates a landmark for Sydneysiders and tourist as a transition towards the solidity of the monolithic glass city. To my concern, it is an absolute welcome towards the 21st-century materials catalog that brings materiality into a hold new dimension at an urban scale. Being a part of a passive design strategy, regular planter boxes are placed around the 2 towers to reduce solar heat gains during the day. I'm actually amazed by the overall management system maintaining the vertical greens, as vertical green walls tend to generally fail over a period of time at this scale. Subsequently, not only the cantilevered heliostat acts as a design feature, it is doubled as a solar reflector that reflects towards the overshadowed portion of the park and the vertical greens. The use of natural daylight filtered through a large glass atrium into the building below not only reduces electrical demand but also enhances the overall spatial quality of the interior.
Image Source : http://www.jakob.com/download/attachments/7406864/G6-13_2_Central-Park_Sydney.jpg?version=1&modificationDate=1421829828689&api=v2
Although in general, K.Jordan stressed that many failed to acknowledge the interconnectedness and interrelatedness of social and environmental issues, and sustainability requires a "transformational" approach. However, from my personal opinion, the masterminds behind one central have outdone themselves in providing a 'beyond functional convenience' that acknowledges the important relationship between the social and environmental needs, between human and nature. In which, being passionate architecture students should draw upon in order to design a building not only for the present but for the future of sustainable development.
Resources :
http://www.centralparksydney.com/live/one-central-park
http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2014/nov/11/sydneys-one-central-park-wins-international-best-tall-building-award
http://www.architectureanddesign.com.au/features/features-articles/one-central-park-sydney-ateliers-jean-nouvel-and-p
K.Jordan, n.d. Sustainability, Virtue ethics, and the virtue of harmony with nature.
http://siteenvirodesign.com/content/high-rise-homes
