Bates Smart designs companion to Sydney’s Chifley tower

Bates Smart has designed a new commercial tower at Sydney's Chifley Square in the CBD.

The proposed building will be a companion to the existing Chifley tower, designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox and Travis Partners and built in 1992.

The project will create 50,000 square metres of office space, with a reimagined podium that connects to the surrounding public realm.

"Our design challenge is to create an urban ensemble with Chifley North that simultaneously complements and respects it, while being clearly of the 21st century in terms of people amenity and environmental performance," Bates Smart said in the development application for the project.

The existing podium will be partially demolished and refurbished to create more public spaces. An existing shopping mall will be replaced with a double-height arcade that connects Hunter and Bent Streets. An urban room will create a meeting place in the middle of the arcade.

"The new Chifley verandah creates a more open and inviting entry to the Chifley precinct. Its transparent and operable facade engages with the public space while its masonry frame is consistent with the existing podium."

Bates Smart won a design excellence competition for the project. Its scheme was unanimously chosen over rival proposals by Architectus and Kohn Pederson Fox, FJMT, Grimshaw, Koichi Takada and Tzannes.