VOLPATOHATZ

VOLPATOHATZ first commission in Sydney was to design a 11’500 square meter mixed-use development of commercial, retail and residential spaces in Waterloo, the heart of the cities new Green Square precinct. The project represented new challenges working with an old industrial landscape that is slowly disappearing within the spreading inner city fringe. The result is a design, that traces in form, the transition from an industrial zone to that of a residential creating an architectural language new to Sydney. The twelve metres high ‘base’ to the building incorporates six metres wide, four storey high Soho type townhouses and provides the possibilities of combining residential, commercial and retail spaces. The eight storey ‘corner element’ enhances the connection between Botany and Elizabeth Streets, and creates a street address, an entry and a through-link for the public and private sector. By contrast the ‘corner element’ provides apartments with a horizontal planned layout, the shimmering facade to this building also responds to the surrounding industrial context.