1 Bligh Street
1 Bligh Street, corner of O’Connell Street, Sydney
Ingenhoven Architects with Architectus. Competition 2006, completed 2011. Contemporary.
- Size
- 139 m. 30 storeys on Wikipedia, 29 for the developer, 28 in Architect magazine. Width estimated from photographs and the 1,600 m² floor plates
- Material
- Double skin of clear glass with blinds in the cavity. Recycled concrete, steel with 50% recycled content
- Status
- Offices. 6 Star Green Star
The building came from a 2006 competition won by Ingenhoven Architects of Düsseldorf and Architectus of Sydney. Its plan is an ellipse turned toward the harbour, which Architectus says is about 12 per cent more efficient than a rectangle in its ratio of facade to floor area. The ground floor covers only about 40 per cent of the footprint. The rest goes to a cafe, a childcare play area and broad curving steps that rise from the street to a sheltered wintergarden, with a large aluminium sculpture by James Angus at the entrance.
Wikipedia calls it Australia’s first major high-rise with a full double-skin facade. The inner wall is a double-glazed unit, the outer a single sheet of clear laminated glass, and the cavity between them is ventilated at each slab and holds automatic blinds. Inside, a naturally ventilated glass atrium rises about 120 m. Architectus describes it as central, and Wikipedia places it on the south side.
The building was designed for a 6 Star Green Star rating, with a basement plant that recycles sewage, solar cooling, trigeneration and chilled beams. In 2012 it won the International Highrise Award, the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat’s award for Asia and Australasia, and national awards for sustainable and commercial architecture from the Australian Institute of Architects.
Sources
- 1 Bligh Street, Wikipedia
- 1 Bligh Street, Architectus
- 2012 National Architecture Awards: Sustainable, Architecture Australia
- 1 Bligh Street, Architect
- 1 Bligh Street, Cbus Property