The façade design of an apartment building in Sydney’s Barangaroo South are designed to embody earth, water and sky.

Designed by FJMT, the apartment tower – called Anadara – features two distinct forms with dramatically contrasting facades. To the south lies a shorter structure with an earthy, terracotta-coloured façade. This contrasts with the white, curvilinear form to the north.

FJMT articulated the structure in two long, linear, primary forms. The first of these is a carefully-scaled rectilinear form that brings definition to the waterfront. Proximate to this is a higher, more expressive, ‘organic’ form whose intention is to celebrate and define the area’s public, open space. Together, they form seven and nine levels of apartments respectively, orientated north and north-west towards the water.

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Photography by John Gollings 

The architectural forms of Anadara are combined with a linear canopy, as well as terracing and landscaping conceived with the intention of showcasing the public waterfront.

Considering its location, it was important to ensure there was privacy for apartments, some of which face the water’s edge and others the commercial towers. The curved nature of ‘The Cloud’ was created through fixed and operable perforated screens, which maximise views while maintaining a private, outdoor realm.

The eastern façade provides balcony setbacks and recessed oblique windows to enable views along the length of the street, rather than directly across the road to the commercial street frontage.

Retail and lobbies for the apartments predominantly occupy the ground level of each building.

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Photography by John Gollings 

Anadara, which was completed last year, is only one of many projects either planned, approved or already constructed within the Barangaroo South precinct. These include Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners’ International Towers, Wilkinson Eyre’s Crown Sydney Hotel, Tzannes’ International House Sydney, Renzo Piano’s three luxury residential high-rise towers, and the recently approved two-hectare public domain designed by Grant Associates.

Anadara has been recognised by a number of design and development awards such as the 2016 Sydney Design Awards, the 2016 UDIA NSW Awards for Excellence and the 2016 Development Excellence Awards. It was also named in the 2016 World Architecture Festival Awards shortlist.