/ SUSSEX STREET APARTMENTS 2015

Multiple residential development

The Sussex Street Apartments are located on a 392m2 infill site overlooking Darling Harbour and a heritage listed former school building. The proposal has been finely tuned to the particularities of the site and context to maximise solar access and respond to functional requirements.

The building is split into three portions; the lower retail level which forms a strong base to the building and provides activation to the street frontage; the middle portion or 'body' of the building which follows the approximate height of the original buildings along Sussex Street; and the top portion which is built to the same height as new developments along the Sussex Street and has been twisted to capture the northern sun. The lower two parts of the building are separated by a discrete ventilation slot, which conceals a floor containing a majority of the building's services.

The building is clad with perforated shutters, which through their operation provide a playful representation of the occupation of the building. They can be adjusted to provide complete privacy to the interior or opened to varying degrees to increase sunlight penetration into the apartments. The shutters and party walls are curved in section to reference the arched windows of the original and neighbouring buildings and provide rhythmic texture to the facade, which changes the perception of the building when viewed from different vantage points. Balconies are in the form of wintergardens to provide flexibility to the space, improve amenity, increase the thermal performance of the apartments and mitigate traffic noise.