Construction World December 2022

ARCHITECTS

THE MEDIAN OF ROSEBANK

M es sar i s Wapenaar Co l e Archi tect s was commi s s i oned at the end o f 2014 to des i gn what was or i g i na l l y i ntended to be a 14 - f l oor apar tment bu i l d i ng . Wi th i t s pr ime pos i t i on i n the hear t o f the busy hub o f Rosebank , The Med i an was env i saged by the c l i ent as a bu i l d i ng whi ch was to become the i con o f nouveau apar tment l i v i ng i n Rosebank . The s i te for the new bu i l d i ng was the corner o f Ty rwhi t t and Craddock Avenue , the gateway to the pedest r i ani sed upper Ty rwhi t t Avenue where i t i nter sect s the nor th/ south pedest r i an ar ter y f rom the Ma l l o f Rosebank to the tax i rank at Je l l i coe Avenue , and i s wa l k i ng d i stance f rom the Gaut ra i n and a l l o f Rosebank’s ameni t i es . A s wi th most urban s i tes , the med i an s i te i s compact and consequent l y the footpr i nt o f the bu i l d i ng i s sma l l . Acces s and egres s for both vehi c l es and pedest r i ans wou l d be on Ty rwhi t t Avenue , occupy i ng most o f the façade at st reet l eve l , wi th the except i on o f a sma l l reta i l o f fer i ng addres s i ng the bu i l d i ng ’s cont r ibut i on to the Rosebank reta i l prec i nct . What was c l ear f rom the star t , was that i f the bu i l d i ng were to become any sor t o f i con at a l l , i t wou l d need to be a t ype o f urban sca l e scu l pture , boast i ng an urban sca l e i conography whi l st addres s i ng the human sca l e o f the l arge l y pedest r i ani sed ma l l o f upper Ty rwhi t t Avenue that i t wou l d become par t o f. The urban sca l e i conography o f the bu i l d i ng speaks to the pub l i c spaces around i t , i n terms o f the i nter face the bu i l d i ng has wi th the st reet , as we l l as the i nter face between the st reet and the pavement scape i t se l f. Above the st reet , the pr i vate apar tment par t o f the bu i l d i ng sur rounds a 15 - f l oor covered at r i um. The apar tment s face outward , wi th v i ews d i rected d i agona l l y f rom the bu i l d i ng to secure a fee l i ng o f space i n what wi l l u l t imate l y become a tota l l y hi gh- r i se env i ronment . The i ni t i a l des i gn concept was der i ved f rom what other des i gner s , charged wi th s imi l ar br i e f s , had done be fore i nternat i ona l l y. Therea f ter, hi stor i ca l precedent became the i n format i ve backbone o f the des i gn . The ske l eta l cur ve o f the ba l cony ar rangement was adopted ear l y i n the des i gn proces s together wi th the f u l l he i ght at r i um wi ndow over the ent rance i n Ty rwhi t t Avenue to c reate the bu i l d i ngs urban sca l e appearance . The Med i an’s 140 apar tment s were then i ntegrated i nto the , hope f u l l y i coni c , ske l eton o f the Ty rwhi t t / Craddock corner i n a mi dni ght b l ue rectangu l ar st ructure character i sed by moderni st L- shaped exposed e l ement s and four re f l ect i ve sc reens . I n cons i der i ng the env i ronmenta l impact , a dec i s i on was made to c reate setbacks between the bu i l d i ng and the boundar i es , as we l l as the cur vature whi ch was i nt roduced to mi nimi se the shadow cast by the bu i l d i ng as we l l as the co l our cho i ces whi ch cause the bu i l d i ng to b l end wi th i t s urban env i ronment . I nterna l l y, the ent rance , a l though sma l l for a

88 21 st Best Project Awards 2022