Tall & Urban News

Developer Crown Group has announced the appointment of renowned Japanese architect Kengo Kuma as the designer of its new 19-story tower in Sydney’s Waterloo.

The developer submitted an application for one of the towers in the five-building project on O’Dea Avenue in the Green Square urban renewal precinct.

Kuma’s winning design, depicting a plant-filled green exterior reminiscent of a vertical forest, was submitted in partnership with Australian architecture firm Koichi Takada Architects.

The announcement of Kengo Kuma marks the third architecture firm working on the five-building Waterloo development that will range from four to 19 stories.

The tower will comprise 384 apartments and include a mix of restaurants, cafes, and shops. It will sit alongside Crown Group’s 331-apartment “Waterfall” development, which is scheduled for a 2020 completion.

Kengo Kuma, who recently designed the 2020 Olympic Stadium in Tokyo and the V&A Museum in Dundee, UK, will design the tallest of the five buildings, with three of the buildings designed by Koichi Takada Architects, and one designed by Sydney-based architects Silvester Fuller.

The Green Square urban renewal covers a 278-hectare area and will provide 30,500 new residential dwellings for an estimated 61,000 new residents by 2030.

More than 40,000 jobs are expected to be created in the Green Square area by 2030, which aims to be completed in 2020.

Crown Group chairman Iwan Sunito said the collaboration between Kengo Kuma and Koichi Takada was a world first.

“Kengo Kuma and Koichi Takada each have their own unique style and ethos, which fit with Crown Group’s desire to push the boundaries of design,” he said. “This development will be a forward-thinking new addition to Sydney’s Green Square redevelopment precinct.”

The developer said that apartment sales are expected to launch later this year.

For more on this story, go to The Urban Developer.