Local Sydney developer Ceerose required innovative thinking when excavating on a confined 290sqm block in busy Elizabeth Street for its 17-storey residential tower Eliza.
Hemmed in by tall buildings, constricted by CBD congestion, and corralled on a site less than one-third the size of a traditional quarter acre block, the excavation took a long 12 months to complete.
One of the biggest issues faced on the project was the problem over lifting the heavy digging machinery from from the 25-metre deep pit. The answer was by crane.
Being restricted by Council to working hours between 10am and 3pm, did not stop two excavators successfully and safely burrowing down six levels without undermining neighbouring foundations.
Finally, with Council permission to bring in a 300-tonne crane and to partially close Elizabeth Street from 5pm to 2am, the two diggers were lofted from the hole they had created, with just millimetres to spare.
“It was the most stressful four hours of my life . . . and that includes being at the birth of my three children,” said Edward Doueihi, who founded Ceerose in 1998.
The six-level foundations and car parking levels are now complete, and Eliza, which was designed by Tony Owen Architects using advanced digital technology and visualisation software, is starting to come out of the ground. Mr Doueihi estimates he can now pour one floor every 10 days on average, so the structure should top-out in October and be completed by April next year.
The facade is contoured, sculptured and asymmetrical, with serpentine swirls. At its rear will be a living ‘green screen’— a five storey-high wall of evergreen climbing plants.
All 19 apartments in Eliza have sinuous floor-to-ceiling windows optimising light, airflow and views over Hyde Park.
