Australian design firm Crone wins design competition for five-star hotel in Sydney’s Circular Quay

Australian architecture firm Crone and Kengo Kuma & Associates (KKAA) have jointly won an international design competition for a five-star Wanda Vista Hotel in Sydney’s Circular Quay. 

The 110 metre, 25-storey hotel is part of Dalian Wanda’s $1 billion makeover of Gold Fields House at 1 Alfred Street. Construction of the hotel will commence in 2017 with completion expected in 2020. 

The architecture firms’ winning design features an elegant tower that slowly pixelates, breaking down the scale of the building and making it more human-scale at the lower levels, according to the media release. 

The competition brief called for a design that best demonstrated the ability to deliver a world-class hotel and achieve design excellence in accordance with the City of Sydney Competitive Design Policy.

Alongside the hotel will be a 57-storey luxury residential tower designed by Kerry Hill Architects.

The hotel’s design also complements the adjacent residential tower, using harmonious use of sandstone, cascading green walls and large windows framing views towards the harbour, the release said.  

CRONE design director Sandra Furtado, who led the design team in Sydney, said, “We are extremely proud to be involved with Wanda’s ambitious reimagining of this prominent site in Sydney, working alongside our colleagues in Japan. 

“Located on the ‘dress circle’ of Circular Quay, our design aspirations for the Wanda Vista hotel required the crafting of a building with a distinct identity, while being mindful of site constraints, the client’s ambition, as well as the City of Sydney’s plans for the surrounding Alfred-Pitt-Dalley-George (APDG) precinct.”

The Japan-based half of the design team was led by Kengo Kuma.

The 5 Star features include a lobby which extends visually onto Herald Square, a 300-person grand ballroom with views of Sydney Harbour, two levels of restaurants as well as a rooftop bar.  

John Wei, MD of Wanda One Sydney said, “Together, CRONE and KKAA have fulfilled the brief to create a world-class hotel that together with our residential, retail and public realm elements will create a destination address and enhance this important city precinct. CRONE and KKAA will be appointed as the Lead Design Architect until completion of the Wanda Hotel.”

Chinese developer Dalian Wanda Group’s assets at the end of 2015 were at 634 billion yuan with revenue of 290.16 billion yuan.

Apart from the views, the Wanda Vista hotel will have easy access to the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge.