Gold Architecture, Building and Structure Design · 2020
The Landmark Skyscraper
- A' Design Award 2020 Gold Winner in Architecture, Building and Structure Design
- Awarded April 15, 2020
- CLIENT: A+ Design Group
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 21,435
- Verification code DFD097536A · Verify this award
About The Landmark Skyscraper
The Landmark is a mixed-use skyscraper designed for St Leonards in Sydney, Australia. Retail space is placed at ground level, above which are four floors of commercial offices and about 480 apartments with one, two or three bedrooms. A pool and a gym are included. The tall and slender form is oriented to offer views in all directions and lets shadows move quickly, which reduces overshadowing of nearby homes. Prefabricated and modular elements shorten construction. Shared vertical and horizontal gardens are placed on every level.
a+ design group's The Landmark Skyscraper emerges as a distinguished contribution to contemporary architectural discourse, exemplifying the sophisticated integration of organic formal language with advanced structural engineering that characterizes the most ambitious vertical developments of the early twenty-first century. The design demonstrates a masterful command of facade articulation, wherein continuous horizontal bands flow around the tower's elliptical floor plates in rhythmic undulation, suggesting the influence of parametric design methodologies while maintaining the warmth and tactile appeal of material expression. This curvilinear approach to high-rise composition may be understood within a lineage of organic modernism that traces from the biomorphic experiments of mid-century masters through to contemporary practitioners who employ computational tools to realize forms previously impossible to engineer or construct. The chromatic restraint of the white and silver-gray palette allows the sculptural qualities of light and shadow to become the primary expressive medium, transforming the facade into a kinetic canvas that shifts appearance throughout the day as solar angles change. The tapering silhouette culminating in an asymmetrical pointed crown suggests both the aerodynamic refinement of engineered forms and the aspirational symbolism traditionally associated with vertical architecture reaching toward the heavens. At the podium level, the generous integration of landscape terraces planted with verdant vegetation speaks to contemporary biophilic design principles that seek to reconcile dense urban development with the human need for connection to natural elements. The rendering captures the design at an idealized moment of golden hour illumination that bathes the western facades in warm light while allowing the eastern curves to recede into atmospheric cool shadow, demonstrating the designer's sensitivity to how architecture performs across temporal cycles. One might contemplate how such fluid architectural forms offer a counternarrative to the orthogonal rigidity that dominated high-rise design for much of the twentieth century, proposing instead a vision of the vertical building as a dynamic presence capable of grace and movement.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- The Landmark is a major new landmark proposed for the Lower North Shore of Sydney, Australia. Proposed for construction from mid-2018, the Landmark is an exciting new quality development that will revitalise Sydney’s suburb St Leonards area, as part of the local Council’s strategy for major urban renewal. The Landmark will be a key part of a connected St Leonards that links community, commercial and residential precincts.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- Capturing the striking city views and taking advantage of the underutilised, aging commercial properties at 500-520 Pacific Highway, St Leonards to create a new mixed-use building featuring:
• New activated retail shopping at ground level.
• Four floors of modern commercial office space.
• Approximately 480 sophisticated residential apartments.
• Pool & Gym
• Easy access to the Sydney CBD
• Newly activated laneway connecting St Leonards station into Friedlander Place and Nicholson Lane. - Tags
- Landmark, Skyscraper, high-rise building, tower, Sustainability, iconic, Hub, convenience
- Production Technology
- The tower has been designed and oriented to provide views in all directions. The tower proximities have been resolved by providing crossed views and angled view corridors. With the development located on one of the highest points in Sydney, the views on offer will be among the best available anywhere in Australia. This tall and slender form focused on allowing for faster moving shadows over neighbouring allotments and the public domain. This ensured that there was very minimal shadowing for less than an hour in the morning, (otherwise they are entirely unaffected).
Sustainability was considered from day one, prefabricated and modulated elements were created. This helped a simple design not only look stunning but from a construction point of view assisted in a reduced program, higher quality controls and the impact of noise and disturbance on the surrounding properties.
Shared and integrated vertical and horizontal gardens below and on every level lift the overall quality of life. The Landmark is bathed in natural light and air. - Design Challenge
- St Leonards, Sydney is not seen as a destination, it's seen as a pathway or commercial district, with a little soul. The proposal is about creating a design that will contribute to the character and identity of the area. The Landmark needed to be iconic but compatible with the variable nature of the surrounding streets and continuing urban renewal.
- Project Duration
- The project design started in 2015, construction started in 2018 in St Leonards, Sydney, Australia.
- Operation Flow
- The proposed design will provide a diverse mix of housing options and a new hub for creativity and convenience. The Landmark's one, two and three-bedroom apartments will feature the latest in modern living.
- Research
- We believe that knowledge creation in an architectural firm is a collaborative and iterative process.
- Inspiration
- Our concept is about creating architecture that responds contextually to its urban setting, to provide opportunities for a series of meeting places, to instigate social gathering, to enhance the quality of life to the current and future residents and visitors. We have created a structure that minimises the impact of overshadowing and view loss on existing residential properties. It also reduces the footprint of the current structure, allowing for more public domain.
- Image Credits
- All images: a+ design group
- Patents
- Copyrights belong to a+ design group