Asia & The Gulf Commercial Design Trends Asia Commercial Design Vol. 30/9 | Page 59

Below:The new Tyree Energy
Technologies Building at UNSW
weaves in and out of the trees on
the edge of a village green. The
upper levels are clad in terracotta
ceramic panels, while the lower
level – the student commons – is
fully glazed.

Just as teaching and learning methods have
changed with emerging technologies, so do
education facilities need to keep pace.
The new Tyree Energy Technologies Building
at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) not
only needed to accommodate new teaching and
learning spaces for up to 1240 undergraduate and
postgraduate students, it also had to reflect the
university’s focus on sustainable energy technology
research, education and industry collaboration.
Faculty of Engineering development manager
Stephen Wooldridge says the school wanted the
building to achieve a 6 Star energy rating that
would support the university’s research into solar
photovoltaic technologies, sustainable clean fuels,
smart grids, energy storage, energy economics and
policy analysis.
“At the same time UNSW wanted a building that
would provide a memorable and distinctive address
for the campus,” Wooldridge says. “It needed to
make a strong design statement.”
Architect Matthew Todd of Francis-Jones
Morehen Thorp (FJMT), the firm that won the limited entry competition to design the building, says
the site was of considerable strategic importance.
“The site is the junction of three interconnected
urban zones – the retail frontage of Anzac Parade,
the tree-lined mall that is the main approach to the
university, and the huge oval that forms a village
green. This project created an opportunity to create
a significant gateway to the university – one that
would also be a hub of activity.”
Todd says the new building needed to respect
the existing Modernist architecture and the
ceremonial formality of the mall, which forms a
strong entry axis and is integral to the identity of
the university.
“The significant mature trees also had to be
preserved. We needed to integrate the building as
much as possible with the landscape. It was also
clear that each of the building facades would need
to provide a different contextual design response.”
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