Photographs by Andrew Worssam
S
pectacular inside and outside, the
Dr Chau Chak Wing Building is a
key component of UTS’s $1 billion
City Campus Master Plan and
will provide teaching, learning,
research and office space for up
to around1600 students and staff
of the UTS Business School.
The Dr Chau Chak Wing Building
is named after the Australian-Chinese businessman
and philanthropist who donated $20 million to the
project.
Location
City Campus – bounded by Mary Ann Street, The
Goods Line, Ultimo Road and Omnibus Lane, Ultimo
Size
Levels – 14 (12 above-ground) storeys, consisting
of 11 occupied floors, plus one basement parking
level, plant level and rooftop Gross building area –
54
africandesignmagazine.com
18 413m²; total usable floor area – 15 500m²
Capacity
Up to approximately 1630 – made up of around
1300 students and 330 staff
KEY DESIGN FEATURES
Inspired by the idea of a treehouse, the building
was designed by architect Frank Gehry as “a
growing learning organism with many branches
of thought, some robust and some ephemeral and
delicate”. Gehry was determined to not only create
a new Sydney landmark but internal spaces that
inspire real and relevant research and learning
outcomes, interdisciplinary collaboration and the
cross- pollination of ideas. These are just some of
the design highlights:
Undulating brickwork and glass-panelled
‘curtain wall’
Achieving the fluid appearance of the brickwork
proved a technical feat that involved corbelling