First major project in city designed by Danish firm since Utzon's iconic Opera House

Sydney, Australia / September 25, 2014 -- AMP Capital has named 3XN as the architect for the 49-story, 102,000SM (~1.1M SF) 50 Bridge Street tower and master plan for the Quay Quarter Sydney (QQS) precinct. 3XN was selected via a multi-stage international competition, the fourth it has won this year, which included two Pritzker Architecture Prize-winning firms. Construction on this important new addition to the Sydney skyline is slated to begin in 2018.

The 50 Bridge Street "Quay Quarter Tower" represents the first major project designed by a Danish architect in Sydney since Jørn Utzon designed the landmark Opera House in 1973.

3XN's innovative design, already well-received by the community, will revitalise AMP Capital's site, located close to the Opera House, into a vibrant destination for international and local businesses. The bold new tower will engage in an open dialogue with the skyline while also integrating itself into community life at the street level.

Louise Mason, AMP Capital Managing Director Office & Industrial, said: "AMP has been in the Circular Quay precinct for over 50 years and has a deep respect for the heritage of the area and importantly, an exciting vision for the future. This project will feature landmark architecture and leading-edge urban design that will revitalise Sydney's northern CBD."

"This project looks at the 'high rise' in an entirely new way, from both the inside out and outside in," said Kim Herforth Nielsen, MAA/RIBA, Founding Partner and Creative Director of 3XN. "Its dynamic, shifted massing maximises views for all of the building's users while also creating expansive open spaces that encourage the possibility for interaction, knowledge sharing and vertical connectivity."

The 200-meter-high (656 feet) tower comprises a series of shifting glass volumes stacked upon each other. By dividing the building into five separate volumes and placing atria throughout each volume, the spaces become smaller, more intimate social environments, encouraging building occupants to connect and interact. Rather than face directly into the adjacent building at 33 Alfred Street, the lower levels of the tower are angled west to capture the energy and movement from the surrounding neighbourhood. As the building rises, the northern façade shifts to the east. This rotation not only enhances views over the Opera House and Harbour, but helps self-shade the northern façade from harsh afternoon sun, creating a passive sustainability feature.

Rotating the tower also creates a collection of exterior terraces that are directly linked to the multi-level interior atria, which will contain shared amenity spaces for tenants in each block. These common amenity spaces provide stunning views both vertically and horizontally and bring daylight deep into workspaces while promoting collaboration and interaction.

Arup has provided a full multidisciplinary engineering service for the development and will continue to provide all engineering consulting services through to completion.

For further information about the project, please visit the Quay Quarter Sydney website www.quayquartersydney.com.au.

About AMP Capital
AMP Capital is a leading investment house with over A$144 billion1 in funds under management and a heritage and strength in real estate and infrastructure, and specialist expertise in fixed income, equities and multi-asset solutions.  Parent company AMP is the leading independent wealth management company in Australia and New Zealand helping more than four million customers and managing over A$205 billion in assets.

1 As at 30 June 2014

About 3XN
Founded in 1986 by Kim Herforth Nielsen, 3XN employs nearly 100 staff in offices in Copenhagen and Stockholm.

3XN has won four competitions to date in 2014, including the new headquarters for the International Olympic Committee in Lausanne, Switzerland, a luxury residential building in Vienna and a university building in Sweden. In addition, the studio has designed a range of high-profile cultural, commercial and residential buildings, including: the Museum of Liverpool, Amsterdam Music Hall (winner of five international design awards), Denmark's new aquarium, The Blue Planet (RIBA Award winner 2014), and the new Copenhagen Arena, currently under construction.

In 2007, the firm established GXN, a research and development department working with digital tools, new materials and green technologies in order to ensure the studio's leading position within building sector innovation.

Media enquiries
Lisa Bowman
T + 61 2 9257 1113
M + 61 402 786 641
E lisa.bowman@ampcapital.com


AMP_AU

Notes to editors:
The six architecture firms were:

  • Francis-Jones Morehen Thorp (FJMT) from Sydney;
  • Ingenhoven + Architectus from Germany and Sydney;
  • 3XN from Denmark;
  • Morphosis from the USA;
  • MVRDV from The Netherlands; and
  • SANAA from Japan.
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