Dr Chau Chak Wing Building

The building is named for Australian-Chinese businessman and philanthropist Dr Chau Chak Wing, who donated $20 million to the project, along with $5 million to create an endowment fund for Australia-China student scholarships. The building is bound by Ultimo Rd, Mary Ann St and Omnibus Lane, Ultimo, Sydney.

The building’s design symbolizes innovative thinking and encourages interdisciplinary collaboration and the cross-pollination of ideas. Situated in Sydney’s innovation hot spot, the Dr Chau Chak Wing Building is a high-tech research and education hub, and an important venue for business events. It is also a landmark on Sydney City’s ‘cultural ribbon’, which runs from the Opera House to the southern end of the city through Darling Harbour. The building’s entrance from the ‘Goods Line’, currently being redeveloped as a new urban space, also enhances its connections with the city.

The Dr Chau Chak Wing Building was designed from the inside out, starting with the collaborative learning and work spaces.
It features a unique east-facing sandstone coloured, undulating brick façade that responds to Sydney’s sandstone heritage while the large glass panels which comprise the west facing facade reference the building’s city surrounds. The corbelling of the brickwork, with individual bricks jutting out as the façade curves, articulates the façade’s eye-catching lines.

Taking almost four years from concept design to completion, the building offered a number of challenges. The ‘fluid’ appearance of the brickwork involved the custom design of five bricks, with approximately 320,000 of them being laid by hand.

SPECIAL FEATURES

- Two oval classrooms constructed from large laminated timber beams and with capacity for almost 60 people, will provide a very different teaching and learning experience from the traditional front-facing presentation, encouraging dialogue between students and teachers.

- A collaborative theatre, seating 120, is stepped two rows at a time to allow students in the front row of each step to turn and join the students behind them in small-group work.

- A 240-seat auditorium, available as a general space for public lectures and other events, is the largest single space within the building, and is equipped with an advanced audio-visual system and video-conferencing facilities.

- Other notable features include a sculptural stainless steel staircase in the entrance lobby, curvaceous ply perimeter seating in the student commons and cloud-shaped ceiling lighting in the building’s public areas.

- The building has a five-star Green Star design rating from the Green Building Council of Australia. High-performance glazing on the façade enhances the building’s energy efficiency, and the building has parking for 169 bicycles, a 20,000-litres rainwater tank and uses timber from sustainable sources.

Innovative cooling system

High efficient façade

Rainwater harvesting

Water-saving sanitary appliances

Sustainable building materials

Daylight sensors

Smart design (passive design strategies)

Daylighting maximised