SOM Plans Sustainable Skyscrapers for “Australia’s Silicon Valley”

High-profile firm Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM) has been chosen, along with local architect Fender Katsalidis, to design a pair of skyscrapers in Sydney’s Central Business District.

The AUD2.5-billion (roughly US$1.8-billion) scheme will incorporate sustainable design, including solar power, and feature high-tech facades that help ventilate the towers’ interiors.

Named Central Place Sydney, the project was selected following an architecture competition and is envisioned as a key part of a larger development in the area called Tech Central, which the local government refers to as “Australia’s Silicon Valley.” It consists of 36-story and 39-story office towers. Their overall form is designed to mitigate wind forces and maximize natural light inside, and they will be joined by an offset low-rise sandstone tiered building.

“Located at the southern edge of Henry Deane Plaza, the central building is a dynamic urban form that shapes the precinct’s identity,” says SOM. “It ascends in a series of tiers, which are staggered to open up garden terraces and views at each level. The curved sandstone forms respond to the scale and materiality of the precinct’s existing character.

The ground floor is highly permeable, accommodating a retail experience that flows into the plaza, while the upper commercial levels will be linked to the new towers to create campus-style floorplates.”