fjmt studio's kinetic tower of wood transcends grey skyscrapers in sydney

at the heart of this development is both workplace design and city making. the design team elaborated a plan to make a building that reinterprets and honors the uniqueness of sydney in australia. a different type of city tower was envisioned; warm, human and responsive, to create a healthy and sustainable workplace.

the tower connects with the past as it rises out of the ground in materials that have been excavated from the site

fjmt studio‘s aim was to make a city tower grow out of its site, being the source of its inspiration; and in doing so reveal this unique site. the beautiful ‘yellow block’ sandstone on which the site rests was quarried and blocked, and is used to clad the core of the new tower, rising from the earth to form its spine. the ground of the new building, kiosk and public space is formed in stone, curved and folded up to create steps, and a place to display the site’s archaeological findings from sydney’s colonial and victorian-era. forming a soft edge to the street and public foyer is a suspended canopy of folded timber planes reaching out, protecting the footpath and reflecting light into the lobby interior.

the EY center has redefined sydney’s skyline

the EY center appears in the city as a tower made of timber rising out from the greyness of its neighbours.  this is achieved through a façade made from multiple layers. the outer layer is a single sheet of low iron clear glass, behind which is a layer of automated louvres of natural timber, located within a sealed, air-pressured cavity that is clean and dust free, and finally the inner layer is a double glazed high performance insulating unit. the result is a façade that surpasses any of the surrounding grey glass buildings and looks nothing like them. it is clear and transparent and the natural color of the wood glows in the sun.

the ground of the building are formed in stone, curved, and folded up to create steps and pavilion structures

this tower creates work environments that are open, flexible, enabled and connected with its fully glazed floors, extensive natural lighting and integrated LED lighting system. importantly, the envelope is a responsive skin; a kinetic architecture, adjusting automatically to the position of the sun and time of day to control heat load and sky glare. this progressively adjusting timber screen filters the light into a warm timber glow reaching deep into the interior. from outside, the building changes in appearance as the sun moves, the western façade clear and open in the morning and more closed and timber in appearance in the afternoon.

forming a soft edge to the public foyer, a canopy of folded timber planes reaches out and shelters the footpath

the tower uses a closed cavity façade to enhance comfort by increasing the connection with the outside

the building façade moves and responds to its external and internal environment

activated laneways, looking towards ‘pocket park’

this project initiates the creation of a new public square in the center of the block

the timber diamond soffit

judy watson celebrates the heritage of the area and embodies the pre-settlement sydney shoreline in her artwork

the mirvac headquarters inside the EY center

The timber blinds give the building a shimmering, warm, inviting and golden look

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: apostolos costarangos | designboom