Quay Quarter Tower by 3XN – Photo by © Phil Noller.

Architecture – How do you breathe new life into an old tower? 3XN studio employed a radical sustainability strategy that involved upcycling a former skyscraper to create the 206-meter-high Quay Quarter Tower rising close to the Sydney Opera House.

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Photo by © Phil Noller.

Constructed of five stacked shifting volumes, 3XN imagined a series of stacked atria creating a social spine with exceptional views while also allowing daylight deep into each floor. The 49-story Quay Quarter Tower – QQT – is a once-in-a-generation project. Indeed, the high-rise strategically ‘upcycles’ the existing AMP Centre tower, 1976, which was reaching the end of its usable lifespan.

Photo by ©Fred Holt.

Rather than simply tear it down and start over, the project team set out to reach an ambitious goal: to reuse as much of the existing skyscraper as possible and set a lofty new standard for what is possible for adaptive reuse in architecture.

Photo by Adam Mork.

“QQT retains over 65% of the original structure – beams, columns, and slabs – and 95% of the original core, resulting in an embodied carbon saving of 12,000 tonnes, the equivalent of 35,000 flights between Sydney and Melbourne,” 3XN told Archipanic.

Photo by Adam Mork.

Transformation is a sustainable initiative. The Quay Quarter Tower embraces environmental, social, and urban sustainability. The facade features an external sunshade hood, which blocks 30% of the solar radiance, reducing mechanical loads and eliminating the need for internal blinds for thermal control. On top of that, the skyscraper retains 2/3 of the existing structure to create a brand-new identity and texture, giving it new life and reinvigorating the surrounding precinct.

Photo by ©MartinSiegner.

Arranged as a vertical village, the Quay Quarter Tower also creates a sense of community and provides spaces focusing on collaboration, health, well-being and external terraces. “QQT has an excellent carbon story, and it is an example of anticipatory workspace design produced pre-COVID, which nevertheless has provided healthy and attractive space for post-pandemic users.” Commented Paul Finch, Programme Director of the World Architecture Festival.

Photo by Adam Mork.

All photos: courtesy of 3XN and World Architecture Festival.

Photo by Adam Mork.