arry Seidler’s last public commission for a building, the Ian Thorpe Aquatic Centre, is due to open this month in Sydney’s Ultimo. It is a $40 million project commissioned by the City of Sydney. The architectural firm, Harry Seidler and Associates was selected for the project by a competition process. It is the second aquatic centre designed by Harry Seidler — in 1953, he designed an Olympic Stadium and an Olympic Swimming Pool for an architectural competition for the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. Seidler and Associates’ 2001 Ian Thorpe Aquatic Centre uses a free-form wave-shaped roof with the highest ceiling level sited over the 50m pool. The Ian Thorpe pool also opens to the eastern sun and offers views of the city skyline.
The site has some history attached to it — it used to be the location of the AML & F Company wool store, which was destroyed in a spectacular fire in 1992, as well as the 19th century housing along Harris Street and Bullecourt Lane. The construction of Ian Thorpe Aquatic Centre used approximately 4,000m3 of concrete, 160t of steel, 200,000 tiles and 650m2 of single glazed U profile glass used for the north and south walls of the structure. This glass is imported from Germany. The extensive use of natural daylight from continuous glazing from large 53m span trusses and continuous glazing beneath each truss provides an open and light atmosphere.
Following City of Sydney environmental leadership guidelines, the Centre includes green initiatives, such as the use of hydraulically operable roof vents for natural ventilation, the harvesting of rainwater for internal amenities such as toilets and sprinkler systems and integrative active lighting to minimise wastage.
Source: BPN
