Link (
visit link) to Highlights of Frank Gehry's Architecture in Australia.
The Chau Chak Wing Building is the first structure in Australia for Pritzker Laureate Frank Gehry. The octogenarian architect may have been most interested in this project because the University of Technology Sydney, established in 1988, is youthful, spirited, and growing—the building is part of the UTS billion dollar master plan.
About the Dr Chau Chak Wing Building:
Location: University of Technology Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Completed: 2015 (construction ended in late 2014)
Design Architect: Frank Gehry
Architectural Height: 136 feet
Floors: 11 (12 above-ground stories)
Usable Interior Area: 15,500 square meters
Construction Materials: brick and glass exterior; wood and stainless steel interiors
Design Idea: The Tree House
Construction began in November 2012, and completed in early 2015. The building was opened by the Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove on 3 Feb. 2015.
Facts and Figures of this amazing building:
*Number of straight columns: One
*Sharpest angle: 72 degrees
*Length of the longest unbroken column: 13.78 metres
*Number of bricks: 320,000 bricks were laid by hand to create the tessellated facade using five custom-made brick types, manufactured by Austral Bricks in Bowral. Each brick was connected to the infrastructure using a brick-fixing system developed for the project. The bricks were so difficult to lay that master bricklayer Peter Favetti came out of retirement. Because the walls are curved, and many of the bricks stick out at angles, laying the bricks took five times longer than traditional face-finished bricks.
*Best spot to see it: ABC managing director Mark Scott's office in the adjacent ABC building. Frank Gehry went to the area to get his first good look at the site in late 2009.
*Numbers of workers: About 1500 during construction.
*Number of students and staff it will accommodate: 1630
*Environmental ratings: 5-Star Green Star rating thanks to features such as the air-conditioning system, which works similar to a sensor light in that it adjusts on and off with people in the room, and Gehry's innovative lighting specialist who eliminates the need for most exterior lights by making internal lights cast a light outside.
The building can be viewed best from the street corner of Ultimo Road and Omnibus Lane area in Ultimo, Central Sydney. Take time to walk around and view from all the different angles.