Winner Asian Pacific Property Awards Mixed Use Development and Residential Interior Apartment

Winner Asian Pacific Property Awards  Residential Interior Apartment

Winner Urban Taskforce Development Excellence Awards Mixed Use Development

Highly Commended Think Brick Horbury Hunt Award

Centrally located on the north-eastern corner of Bathurst and Sussex Streets, Bathurst 60 is a distinctive mixed-use hotel and residential development, set within the metropolitan heart of Sydney’s CBD. This competition-winning scheme balances the amenity of the accommodation offering with the constraints of the site, and consolidates a complex building program into a remarkably simple and clear proposition. This striking 27-storey building comprises 5 levels of basement carparking, a 5-star hotel with function rooms and food and beverage facilities within the 8-level podium, and 95 premium residential apartments in the tower above.

Smart Design Studio was awarded the project through the City of Sydney’s invited competitive design process, and the building form evolved out of the approved Stage 1 building envelope. This takes the form of four brick blocks that on the lower portion align the predominant street walls of Bathurst and Sussex Streets. These blocks appear to float above the steeply inclined streets, creating a highly activated two-storey space with two foyers, bar, restaurant and function rooms. The upper tower portions step back to align with the surrounding buildings. On the podium roof is a 20m long wet-edge outdoor pool with associated lounge, gym, yoga room and facilities.

Hovering above and alongide one another, the boxes have spaces between them that allow light and air into the centre of the building. The corners that are revealed improve views, natural ventilation and create connections into the city. This results in apartments that are spacious, have access to direct sun and are naturally cross-ventilated. Built on foundations of great planning, these apartments have a timeless elegance.

Bathurst 60 appropriates the surrounding fabric of the city to create Australia’s tallest brick building – a landmark tower with handsome proportions, minimalistic detailing, distinctive style and historical integrity. The materiality reinforces the “down-town” character of this Haymarket locale and through unity, lifts the urban quality of the precinct. The use of brick construction marries with the long history of brick warehouses in this area, and introduces a timeless quality to the building. Innovation elevates this tried and tested material, enabling the construction of the 27-storey tower using real bricks laid individually rather than brick slips or imitation bricks.

Within the building’s podium, the façade is half brick and half glass, with offset windows reminiscent of a chequer board. These 1.8m wide, full height, deep-set windows give ample light to the hotel rooms whilst allowing an appropriate amount of privacy, noting the narrow streets and high density of this area. Whilst the tower, where the apartments are located, is mostly glass with tall 350mm wide brick columns that break the façade into a series of front glazed 1.3m wide windows. Between the expressed slabs, the columns and brick walls are offset from each other, bringing a sense of energy to this building that is at once classical and contemporary.

SMART DESIGN STUDIO ARCHITECTURE FROM THE INSIDE OUT