Commercial and Residential Tower 161 Clarence St Sydney, NSW


City Slice

City Slice is a response to a site that is surrounded by tightly knit commercial buildings up to podium level, above which it transforms to a residential tower.

The apartment tower has a regular and slender form reflecting the narrowness of the site. It is patterned with wrap-around perforated aluminium shutters. Windows and shutters are floor to ceiling with a handrail in-between giving each room the potential to transform into a loggia. The facades on all sides are punctuated by coloured balconies.

The facades are treated the same way all around, avoiding the small scale domestic impression of stacked balconies and windows; adding a single bold image on the city skyline.

The apartments in the tower are oriented towards the north. Cross ventilation is achieved in most of the apartments.

The commercial floor space has generous floor to floor heights of 4m and a floor plate that can be divided into two. The offices have an external frontage to the courtyard light-well and also have potential for natural ventilation.

Location: 161 Clarence Street, Sydney -33.868257, 151.204870
Date: 2002
Design team: Thierry Lacoste, David Stevenson
Lanscape architect: Anton James Design
Photography / images: Lacoste+Stevenson Architects