Frank Gehry's Sydney UTS building bricks exposed: Buff, brown or crushed paper bag?
The first Australian building designed by North American architect Frank Gehry has had some of its brickwork unwrapped at the University of Technology, Sydney.
Billed as Sydney's most distinctive project since the Opera House, it consists of 320,000 brown bricks, all laid by hand.
Likened to a crushed paper bag by some, though Property Observer's inspection yesterday didn't leave that initial or lasting impression, nor the supposed tree house likeness. More like an urban sandcastle.
The award winning architect also says they are buff coloured bricks.
"The east facing facade is made of a buff colored brick similar in color to the Sydney (heritage) sandstone," Gehry advised on the project website.
"The form of this facade curves and folds like soft fabric.
"The brick will be set in horizontal courses and will step or corbel to create the shape.
"The texture of the surface will be rough and will emphasize the mass of the material.
"The shape flattens as it wraps around the north and south corners.
"Large windows punch this facade."
The section on Mary Ann Street and Omnibus Lane, Ultimo has been exposed after recent work by the construction giant Lend Lease won the bid to build the landmark undulating building.
The initial Austral bricks were deliver to the site last August after being manufactured in Bowral by the Brickworks Ltd subsidiary. Austral, which dates back to 1908, custom-made five brick types for the building’s exterior. Master bricklayer Peter Favetti came out of retirement for the project, noting the Gehry building was the most difficult ever undertaken in Australia.
.The 12-storey building is being built on the former Dairy Farmers site between the ABC Ultimo Centre and the Powerhouse Museum.
It will be named after Dr Chau Chak Wing, a Hunters Hill, Australian-Chinese businessman who donated $20 million for its construction and $5 million for scholarships.
Its a $180 million project, according to the UTS vice-chancellor, Ross Milbourne. The new building is part of a UTS campus master plan, estimated to cost a total of $1 billion.
Most of the brick work is very intact, although Property Observer spotted where some rectification is required, but hardly worth making a headline out of it.
The bricks sit on top of a steel substrate constructed according to Gehry's design.
The Gehry Partners LLP team worked with a local team, including architect Daryl Jackson Robin Dyke and façade contractor Sharvain.
It's a $180 million project, according to the UTS vice-chancellor, Ross Milbourne. The new building is part of a UTS campus master plan, estimated to cost a total of $1 billion.
Construction of the tower for around 1,300 students and more than 300 academic staff had an early 2014 completion timeline, but that seems pushed out to at least September.
The crumpled-looking 15,470 square metre building will be the university's new business school. But it will undoubtedly be an attraction to many passersby when then new pedestrian thoroughfare linking Darling Harbour and Central Station running through Pyrmont and Ultimo, the Goods Line is completed. The Goods Line is modelled on the now iconic High Line, which is one of the fun activities I enjoy when visiting New York.
Gehry, who was reportedly unperturbed by the paper bag comparison, has described the building's internal structure as being like a "tree house", designed to encourage a sense of "creative play".
It will include parking for 177 bicycles and 20 cars, with onsite showers and lockers.
The new building will generate its own electricity with a gas-fired tri-generation plant, an initiative backed by the City of Sydney.
"The design of this building is extremely complex," says the managing director of Lend Lease's project management and construction business in Australia, Murray Coleman.
"The result will be an exciting building, the likes of which has never been seen before in Sydney."
He said they have used state-of-the-art construction methods including building information modelling to deliver the project.
Additional project team members included AW Edwards (early works contractor); AECOM (services engineer); Arup (structural engineer, transportation and traffic); RPS (statutory planner); Casey & Lower (archaelogical consultant); Godden Mackay Logan (heritage assesssment); Morris Godding Accessibility (accessibility consultant); Wind Tech Consulting (wind assessment); and AECOM (ecologically sustainable development).
The first recorded use of the word "buff" to describe a colour was in the London Gazette of 1686, describing clothing.
{module From what we can currently see, do you find Frank Gehry's building facade impressive?}