Barangaroo House / Collins And Turner

Architects: Collins and Turner
Year: 2017
Photographs: Rory Gardiner, Richard Glover, Felix Forest
Manufacturers: Accoya, panoramah!®, Britton Timbers, Bromic, Frank Miller Lumber, ITC Eco, Junglefy
Lead Architects: Collins and Turner
Products used in this Project: Accoya® Cladding, Siding & Facades
Collins and Turner Team: Penny Collins, Huw Turner, David Janson, Sonny Lee
Developer: Monique DeCseuz
Project Manager: Martin Cunningham, Evan Chalmers, Rowan Stewart, Jason Tran
Principal Contractor: Jeremy Thompson, Dipankar Mukherjee, Peter Gutmann, David Springford, Phil Kiehne, Carl Nelson, Clare Hall, Eugene Labra
Structure: Arcadis, Martin O’Shea, Nicholas Sheldrake
Mechanical: Aurecon. Mairead Hogan, David Ting
Electrical: Aurecon. George Diakos
Facade: AureconSteve Hill
Hydraulic: Warren Smith + Partners. Andreas Heintze, Paul Sarza
Fire Services: Warren Smith + Partners. Peter Brawley, Ian Stone
Landscape: Aspect Oculus. Sacha Coles, Jane Nalder, David Duncan, Nat Lawrence, Andrew Langford
Fire Consultant: Defire. Victor Tung
Interior Design: H+E Architects. Chris Grinham, Sonny Lee, Wendy Huang
Lighting: Speirs and Major. Mark Major, Daniel Harvey
Contractor: Onsite Group. Kirk Lawes, David Sanders
Specialist: ITC Eco. Enzo Botte
Subcontractors: Brittons Timbers
Client: Lendlease
Certifier: McKenzie Group. Brigitte Thearle, Stephen Natilli, Aaron Celarc
Studio Etic: Emily Delalande
City: Barangaroo
Country: Australia

Barangaroo House, designed by Collins and Turner and located at the southwest extent of the Barangaroo South precinct in Sydney, emerged from a design excellence competition organized by Lendlease and the Barangaroo Delivery Authority. The design, driven by the concept of a building ‘in-the-round’ and integrated planting, features a curved plan that creates a free-flowing space and extends waterside terraces. The steam-bent charred timber façade, with edible plants and cantilevered balconies, enhances its visual identity and outdoor atmosphere. The project, aimed at creating a welcoming, timeless structure, required innovative structural solutions and material detailing, resulting in a unique architectural response to its brief.

Barangaroo House, positioned at the southwest extent of the Barangaroo South precinct, is the outcome of a design excellence competition organized by Lendlease and the Barangaroo Delivery Authority.

The overarching design strategy emerged from two crucial responses: the urban concept of a building ‘in-the-round’ and the holistic integration of planting, both edible and ornamental.

The curved plan form creates a free-flowing space around the building, encouraging movement and effectively extending the waterside terraces around its northern and southern faces.

The steam-bent charred timber façade gently curves in three dimensions, concealing a continuous ring of edible plants and generating a strong visual identity for the building. Perimeter balconies cantilever the dining spaces outward, creating a unique outdoor atmosphere on each level.

Early design investigations aimed to propose a building that reflected the nature of the program and the uniqueness of the site while redefining the limits of a hospitality venue.

The project’s ambition is to create a welcoming, timeless, convivial structure that becomes a beloved part of the city over time.

Barangaroo House, with its ambitious brief and bold design, prompted innovation and rigorous testing at every level, encompassing urban planning, detailed resolution, and material selection.

The key urban design principle of a ‘building in the round’ dictated the curvilinear form, with curved perimeter balconies extending outward in all directions. Structural cantilevers up to 8.5 meters create a distinctive outdoor atmosphere for the dining spaces on each level of the multi-tiered building.

The structural cantilevers necessitated a complex and innovative concrete waffle slab design, featuring multiple layers of post-tensioning interwoven like a cable-knit jumper. This allowed for two-dimensional spans, effectively distributing the load back to the raking structural columns and enabling a free, open floor plan for future flexibility.

Innovation in detailing stemmed from the vision for a steam-bent charred timber facade, intended to evoke the primeval act of cooking while creating a distinct visual identity for the building and supporting the urban concept of a ‘building in the round.’ Prototypes were developed to perfect the concealed dowel fixings, steam bending techniques, and openable windbreaks.

Prototyping also included material innovation, involving the development of specialized charring equipment, testing custom-laminated glazing products, and experimenting with patina metal treatments.

Barangaroo House is seen as the culmination of an iterative series of examinations and prototypes, ultimately providing a highly unique response to the complex requirements of its brief and design intent.