One Central Park is a tribute to city meeting nature. The incredible green facade design features on three sides of these stunning residential apartments, and stands out in an otherwise concrete landscape.
Three years ago, the block was vacant wasteland in the dead end of Sydney’s CBD. Now, it tells a completely different story, with the public park at the heart of the precinct climbing the sides of the towers to form a lush, green canopy. There is nothing else like it in the city, or in fact, the world.
Tensile Design & Construct were the pioneers behind the unique design and construction of the cable system that holds the greenery together. A total of 15,000 metres of stainless steel cables and rods span the 34 floors, across 3 facades of the two buildings. Overall, they support over 2,500 various climbers and vines.
The key consideration during the design phase was not merely structural stability, but the integration of plants into the habitat and their subsequent relationship with the cables.
Tensile looked at numerous wind tunnel studies to understand the full impact that housing the plants 110 metres in the air would have on them. The studies were another world first achieved by Tensile. For the first time, there were definitive results showing the behaviour of climbing plants in high wind areas.
The result of the intricate cable system and the carefully chosen vegetation is in effect, a tree house retreat. Over 250 different species of Australian plants were selected to change with the seasons, creating visual interest and hardiness all year round. The vines and leafy foliage grow between the floors of the building and around the strategically placed cables to provide the perfect frame for Sydney’s skyline and picturesque views.
Nothing has been overlooked in this extraordinary garden covered construction. Between the two buildings where sunlight may be limited at various times of the day, giant motorised mirrors have been installed to capture sunlight and direct the rays right down into the One Central Park’s core public gardens. After dark, the mirrors reflect the night-lights of the city for a shimmering firework of movement in the sky.
The impressive sustainable design concepts, green facades and water-recycling program haven’t gone unnoticed, with the building winning the 2014 International Best Tall Building Award. It was also awarded five-stars by the Green Building Council Australia. The council’s executive director Antony Wood said of the winning building, “Seeing this project for the first time stopped me dead. One Central Park strongly points the way forward, not only for an essential naturalisation of our built environment, but for a new aesthetic for our cities – an aesthetic entirely appropriate to the environmental challenges of our age.”
The design and construction of One Central Park was a monumental project, not only in its vision and design, but also by providing the opportunity to push the technology of green facades beyond what was previously just a concept. As the first of its kind in the world, it is surely a sign of things to come.
