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Glass provides that lovely, complementary lift almost
as the jewel in the diagram.
That’s true and design patterns really contributes hugely,
not merely to a way of looking out and through the
building, but as a way of highlighting the building’s whole
assembly. It’s way beyond just a decorative element.
Of course we wanted environmental performance
and Viridian gave us that performance we needed
for fantastic transparency and energy control.
Glass really sings here. Its functional role appears
a motif and crucial part of the building’s identity.
It was really important for the design brief that the
activities occurring within the building were also visible
from the outside. Equally that people had the opportunity
to focus on their work intensely, then look up and see this
beautiful parkland setting of Macquarie University. Glass
facilitates that, of course, and it’s also the thermal skin
being double-glazed and shaded with deep overhangs
from the roof projections. That provides passive shading
to the glass so that thermal transmittance is kept low,
and consequently the glass could be designed as very
transparent. That’s facilitated this whole indoor/outdoor
connection not unlike some Japanese pavilions for
example. The connection from the outside to the inside,
is really perceptible in this landscape.
The building’s column-free qualities are pretty
audacious and not normally associated with
conventional tertiary design.
All of those exterior diagonal columns brace and
support the building and free up the interior from a
forest of columns. The ceiling diaphragm uses cross
laminated timber, large span laminated veneer timber
beams and glued laminated V columns, as well as spotted
gum hardwood for decking, cork for the interior floor
surfaces, and plywood for the external walls. Working
with partners including Lipman and StrongBuild, these
materials allowed us to take an innovative design
approach. With this in mind, we created open spaces
and breakout areas, and smaller, private meeting rooms.