Crown Group bring together 'masters at the top of their game' to deliver a ‘stacked forest’ in the sky at Mastery by Crown Group

“It’s about being at the top of your game, bringing a lifetime of knowledge and experience to achieve the optimum creative expression,” Sunito said.
Crown Group bring together 'masters at the top of their game' to deliver a ‘stacked forest’ in the sky at Mastery by Crown Group
The 'stacking forest' tower will stand out across the Waterloo skyline. Image supplied.
Alison Warters May 24, 2022

Crown Group Chairman and CEO Iwan Sunito says that to master something, you must be at one with the object you create.

That's the origins of the name of Crown Group's latest Sydney development, Mastery by Crown in Waterloo, a collection of five visually striking buildings creating a mini-community a stone's throw from the city.

“It’s about being at the top of your game, bringing a lifetime of knowledge and experience to achieve the optimum creative expression,” Sunito said.

“Here at Crown Group we’ve created global icons for the city of Sydney, but now it’s time to up the ante,” he added.

“Mastery by Crown Group marks the culmination of decades of experience combining to achieve a singular vision. It’s a new era of urban living for Sydney, with a strong emphasis on creating community and connecting people with nature."

The Waterloo precinct has been designed in a collaboration between internationally renowned architects Kengo Kuma, Koichi Takada and Sydney-based Silvester Fuller, with Kuma and Takada taking the reins on the ‘stacked forest’ tower.

The five buildings, ranging from six to 20 storeys, will home 368 apartments, with each building featuring its own creative design. There will be a mix of restaurants, cafes and shops conveniently located along the streetscape, as well as the central east-meets-west eat street.

The tallest of the five towers at Mastery by Crown Group, Building C, overflows with lush landscaping from the Japanese-inspired balconies and terraces, creating the illusion of a forest in the sky.

“Japanese architecture is more about its simplicity and how architecture and building blends with nature and nature becomes part of the extension of the building", Sunito added.

"They're not trying to create a building that competes with nature but they’re trying to respect nature and make buildings look so beautifully fitting with nature itself.

Revered globally as a mastery of architecture, in 2021 Kengo Kuma was named one of Time Magazines Top 100 most influential people of the year. Mastery by Crown Group will be Kengo’s first residential building in Australia,

“Kengo Kuma is regarded as god of architecture in Japan and it's such a privilege to work with such a master,” said Takada.

Sunito’s long-held dream of working with Kuma was set in motion after a chance visit to the Kuma-designed Great (Bamboo) Wall House in Beijing's countryside, experiencing the best of Japanese architecture and its effects on the daily rhythms of life.

With its pairing of traditional Japanese design principles, particularly elegance in simplicity, and nature, the house made an infallible impression on Sunito.

“We tried to really humanise the architecture, try to humanise the neighbourhood and this is really about giving back to the people. Everything that will come in the Mastery by Crown Group will be very much a human focus", said Sunito.

Kuma said his intention is to create second nature.

"Most buildings try to create contrast with nature, whereas my intention is the opposite," Kuma said.

"I want to create the real nature by some complementary material. I want to create a stacking forest in the city."

Mastery by Crown Group is home to the last council-permitted tower for the area, creating an exclusive opportunity to secure views that will be impossible to replicate in Waterloo with existing zoning rules.

Waterloo is seen by many as the Manhattan of Sydney, a former industrial precinct transforming into a vibrant culinary and cultural destination located just four-kilometres from the Sydney CBD.

Situated between Alexandria, Redfern and Moore Park, the area is rapidly evolving into a sought-after destination to call home. There is a wealth of nearby amenities and services including schools and universities, parks and bike trails, as well as restaurants, cafes and bars.

“Waterloo now is what people call a new creative hub, this is the new Manhattan of Sydney - at the centre of everything. You have transport right at your doorstep, including the currently under-construction Metro, as well as access to three major universities, which is quite amazing,” Takada said.

Alison Warters

Alison Warters is a property journalist for Urban, based in Sydney. Alison is especially interested in the evolution of the New Build/Development space, when it comes to design innovation and sustainability.

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