Projects

%title% %sep% %sitename%

Home

%sitename% %page% %sep% %sitedesc%

GIF icon

Play icon

<p>The Iconic Arrival creates a new place for Chadstone Shopping Centre, transforming a tucked away leftover space into both an experience and an environment. The prosaic function of a drop-off, a stair and an elevator are poetically and radically shifted into the creation of a portal – a true place. Awesomely tall and cathedral-like, the Iconic Arrival is a true experience, not simply a pathway.</p>
<p>Whilst its initial purpose is linking people to The Social Quarter and providing a new and central address for collection and drop off to Chadstone, The Iconic Arrival acts less like a stair, and more like a gateway – a transformational journey that shifts people – it is a portal to another experience and moment, and a shift in mindset, mood, and energy.</p>
<p>At the same time as building a gateway and portal, we have also created a place to meet, a place of captured moments and entertainment – a destination, not simply a journey. Ultimately, the Iconic Arrival creates a place of transition and repose and an opportunity for connection between people.</p>


Traditional Custodians of the Land

Location

Status

Client

Architect

Base Building Architecture

Landscape Architect

Lighting Design

Artist

Facade Engineering

DDA Consultant

Structural Engineering

Signage Consultant

Fire Engineering

Traffic + Civil Engineering

Hydraulic Engineering

Visualisation

Photography

The Iconic Arrival by Decibel Architecture at Chadstone Shopping Centre

1342_the-terrace-1-web

1342_The-Terrace-1-WEB

<h6>Height + Volume</h6>
<p>The ‘building’ is a welcoming, open, and expansive gesture of light, of shelter and rhythmic elements designed to transcend the simple act of ascension. We have sought to create a volumetric, safe, equitable and luxurious journey up to and down from The Social Quarter, that leads visitors into a fresh headspace, and returns them to the world afresh upon departure.</p>
<h6>Ground Plane</h6>
<p>The ground level landscape of the drop-off has wrought sensible an incredibly complex set of transitions and grades, where we now enable vehicles to draw seamlessly into a generous driveway. Smooth transitions of pavement and kerb enable equitable and elegant access to vehicles, carparks, elevators and The Social Quarter above.</p>
<h6>Meeting Place</h6>
<p>As a meeting place, the Iconic Arrival carves a clear and singular presence, nestled deep within the DNA of the built form landscape of Chadstone’s architecture. A mirrored ceiling reflects the already tall space – doubling the spatial experience and drawing the visitors eye to a fresh perspective of the world and themselves. Acting as the bookend and human-scaled engagement to Matthew Johnson’s stunning artwork on the carpark facade, the Iconic Arrival’s polyrhythms of light and shade, tease out the vivid nature of the experiences promised above, both day and night.</p>
<h6>Access</h6>
<p>The Iconic Arrival is a poetic rethink of access. It is a portal and gateway to an energised social engagement. In the grand tradition of public stairs, we look forward to the first wedding parties being photographed on this magical stairway leading to Chadstone’s exciting new offering.</p>


1342_the-terrace-3-web

1342_The-Terrace-3-WEB

1342_the-terrace-7-web

1342_The-Terrace-7-WEB

The Waratah Studio by Decibel Architecture at Chelsea Australia Garden Olinda

1323_chelsea-rebuild-13-web

1323_Chelsea-Rebuild-13-WEB

The Waratah Studio &#8211; Chelsea Australia Garden Olinda

The Iconic Arrival

Global Architecture Design Award 2024 - Landscape Design (Landscape Architecture) - Gold

Architecture Masterprize - Landscape Architecture - Installations and Structures

World Urban Parks - World’s Most Outstanding New Park Project

WILD Design Awards 2024 Environmental Design - Gold

Build4Asia Awards 2024 - Projects Outside of Hong Kong (Non Commercial/Civic) - Gold

Australian Design Awards 2023 Environmental Design - Gold

Melbourne Design Awards 2023 Environmental Design - Gold

<p>Ten years on from the inception of the Best in Show RHS Chelsea Australia Garden (by Phillip Johnson, Wes Fleming and the Trailfinders team), Decibel Architecture has revisited and reinterpreted the dialogue between architecture and landscape. Working (once again) with the talented teams at Phillip Johnson Landscapes and Lump Sculpture Studio, the original <a href="https://db-a.co/projects/the-waratah-studio/">Waratah Studio</a> has been reimagined in a permanent, Corten laser cut reality, enabling a filigree permanent installation of the original timber studio. Built within the stunning creation of the Australian landscape design by Phillip Johnson and his team, the new sculpture is an anchor to a brilliant and engaging garden that both recreates the original Chelsea installation, and profoundly enhances the natural Olinda environment with a stunning display of Australian endemic species and waterways.</p>
<p>At 20 times the scale of the first iteration, the cleverly designed landscape creates a meandering journey down and through the reclaimed golf course at Olinda, revealing at key moments – the Waratah sculpture as the centre piece of this exquisite public garden. Sitting amongst a dazzling array of Australian flora, the Chelsea Australia Garden is reborn in perpetuity.</p>


Fabrication

<h6>Corten Steel</h6>
<p>Differing from the original sculpture, the studio’s petals are made from laser cut 3mm Corten© steel, allowing for a more lightweight, permanent, and elegant geometry. The delicate petals create dappled light and shadow, disappearing at certain points in the interior when viewed from certain angles. The material was chosen for its ability to patina into warm, rust-orange tones, complementing the surrounding native garden, and revealing the natural weathering of the site conditions.</p>
<h6>Structure</h6>
<p>The steel petals are supported on four inclined CHS tube legs which gently twist up from the ground to intersect with the internal frame. To fabricate the complex form, a jig was erected in the factory warehouse, allowing the form and structural connections of the steel members to be tested before being installed on site.</p>
<p>Each column in connected via horizonal arms that join using a bespoke splice connection, which provides necessary moment connections and rigidity for the structure. The assembly and transport conditions meant the supporting structure required on-site assembly, demanding deeply accurate fabrication to ensure the maximum load-bearing efficiency.</p>
<h6>Prefabrication</h6>
<p>Decibel once again looked to prefabrication technology to construct the Studio, choosing to laser cut the steel petals in varying shapes and intricate cut-out forms. As well as allowing for quick construction of this complex design, the process of laser cutting the geometry also reduced the margin of error and resulted in the most efficient material usage, thereby minimising waste. We designed repetition and modularity into the assembled cube faces, enabling them to be shipped to site in six preformed elements, and assembled on a bespoke Corten© cube that defines the carved-out interior of the original pavilion.</p>
<p>The petal faces were combined into a 5-faced cube on site, and then delicately lifted onto the ‘table’ of the supporting leg structures. Final assembly of the lower face of petals was then undertaken, locking the whole piece in place. Standing just under 9m tall, the sculpture is an extraordinary object playing with light and shade and connecting us both to the beauty and geometry of nature, and back to the award-winning garden that took the world by storm in 2013.</p>


1323_chelsea-rebuild-1-web

1323_Chelsea-Rebuild-1-WEB

1361_picac-brunswick-2b-alt-facade_web

1361_PICAC-Brunswick-2B-alt-facade_WEB

PICAC Brunswick

Balert Mura Consultancy Good Practice Award

<p>PICAC Brunswick began with a vision to create something truly exceptional. We worked alongside the dedicated PICAC team to define an aspirational brief worthy of this groundbreaking project. The project, designed to create a new training facility for the Plumbing Industrial Climate Action Centre (PICAC) at their foundational Brunswick campus elevates the vocational school into a place for future learning while setting a new industry benchmark of excellence.</p>
<p>Significant to this project in Brunswick is PICAC’s intention to establish the flagship industry training space for new sustainable technologies, including the burgeoning field of hydrogen. Training and research in hydrogen as a fundamental field of specialist plumbing is at the core of PICAC’s commitment to green technologies. The facility at Brunswick provides the infrastructure to train from rooftop through built form and into sub-surface installations, a feature unique to PICAC Brunswick and a major leap forward for plumbing training facilities throughout Australia. </p>
<p>The architecture of the building has been carefully considered – discussions held with Traditional Owners are reflected in form and materiality, while the internal plan remains a functional space that is adaptable to PICAC’s dynamic education delivery needs.</p>
<p>PICAC’s purpose and role as an industry leader and educator in water conservation and sustainable plumbing methods is put on display throughout the design, mixing visual cues with physical connection to water across the architecture and landscape design. These continuous reminders of PICAC’s championing efforts in environmental sustainability act as a storytelling mechanism to show the history of PICAC, as well as the history of the land it now stands on – representing the return of water and nature to the site and the beginning of healing for Country.</p>


Consultant

First Nations Consultant

Landscape Design

Town Planner

Engineering + ESD

Quantity Surveyor

Timber Consultant

Traffic Engineering

Waste Consultant

Acoustics

<p>As part of the design process, Decibel Architecture engaged in discussions with Traditional Owners (facilitated by Balert Mura Consultancy) – a collaboration focussed on reaching design decisions that respected both Country and the complex, interwoven history of place. Through investigating Indigenous learnings, Melbourne’s recent colonial past and PICAC’s current role within the built environment, we have crafted a project at PICAC Brunswick that blends cultures and history of Country into one continuous future.</p>
<h6>History of Country</h6>
<p>The land around Merri Creek and what we now know as Brunswick (Bulleke-bek) was once a forested waterway, with the Wurundjeri people living on the rocky banks and utilising the natural abundance. British colonisation of this area in the 1800’s resulted in the establishment of clay quarries for brick production, the remnants of this industry still evident on Country to this day.</p>
<p>Large clay deposits from floods tens of thousands of years prior offered the growing settlement a local resource to mine and produce clay bricks. PICAC Brunswick is located adjacent to the largest of these quarries on the site of Cornwell&#8217;s Pottery, where the extracted clay was used to produce terracotta pipes used in facilitating Melbourne’s extensive sewerage system.</p>
<h6>Future Stories</h6>
<p>Our work with Traditional Owners made it clear that this project presented an opportunity to begin the process of healing Country by weaving the stories of First Nations’ history and knowledge of the area with its recent colonial history into the design of the building, particularly through materiality and form. The history of PICAC as a vocational educational institution concerned with the environmental importance and conservation of water also shaped how this meaning was echoed in the architecture.</p>
<p>The ground plane tells the story of the land – one of clay and terracotta used by both by the Wurundjeri people and the British settlers through brickwork and landscape. The new building is enclosed by a brick wall that mixes different textures and red-brown hues, acknowledging the industrial history of the site while returning that same material back to its origins. Brick is also incorporated into the landscape design by Aspect Studios, with the arch entrance to the building reflected in the garden structures, creating gathering spaces within the curved forms that embrace and create space. The organic, oblong shapes of these semi-ellipses are formed as such to symbolise the common representation of people in Indigenous art and storytelling, evoking a familiar sense of comfort and protection. With the banks of Merri Creek (once an important meeting place for the local First Nations groups), these walls scattered among the outdoor area, allow for protective spaces for people to gather and share knowledge.</p>
<p>The concept of the possum cloak, a ceremonial and protective garment worn by the Wurundjeri is also present in the architecture as a storytelling mechanism. For Wurundjeri people, the possum cloak is a sacred and unique signifier of identity, telling the story of the person who wears it through a series of etched and painted lines on each skin, detailing significant moments of that person’s being. A patchwork set of windows encloses an atrium space on the northern facade, creating an abstracted version of the possum cloak motif as means of establishing cultural protection, pride of history and storytelling at PICAC. It stitches together the two cultures working, living and learning on Country, visibly embedding the narrative into the architecture to encourage cultural awareness and understanding.</p>
<p>Water and its regenerative meaning and purpose to the Wurundjeri people is expressed in the design of the building, while also acknowledging the role of PICAC in conserving and working with this precious natural resource. The soft, milky glazing of the facade was chosen to represent the healing rains brought by Bundjil, the Wurundjeri creator spirit, with the drops falling onto the possum cloak and the grounds below to renew the land and Country. The landscape also reflects this theme, with endemic native plant species interspersed between cylindrical water pools, regenerating the land through the reintroduction of indigenous flora. This area of Brunswick has most recently been a place of hard surfaces and man-made structures with limited respite in nature. Aspect Studios have taken this opportunity to soften the interface of this new building by bringing back local species that in time will create new habitat for native flora and fauna, as well as providing wonderful amenity for humans in the space. Building on this theme, the use of specific trees as way-finding markers is another layer to the story – becoming more and more visible over time. </p>
<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Images</span><br />
Unknown, <em>Brunswick Potteries</em> (1866). <a href="https://viewer.slv.vic.gov.au/?entity=IE436266&amp;mode=browse" target="_blank" rel="noopener">State Library of Victoria</a><br />
H. Hansom, Melbourne Air Services, <em>View of the Brunswick Potteries</em> (c.1920). <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20131203134516/http:/www.auspottery.com/Brunswick%20view.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Australian Decorative Pottery of the 1930s</a><br />
Mandy Nicholson, <em>Possum Skin Cloak</em> (2012). <a href="https://culturalcommons.edu.au/mandy-nicholsons-possum-skin-cloak/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">University of Melbourne Collection</a></p>


PICAC Brunswick concept sketch for First Nations knowledge incorporation

1362_picac-brunswick_scan-1_web

1362_PICAC-Brunswick_Scan-1_WEB

1363_fresh-food-pavilion_other-2

1363_Fresh-Food-Pavilion_Other-2

Fresh Food Iconic Pavilion

<p>Adjacent to the southern entrance of Chadstone Shopping Centre, lies a free-standing structure acting as a continuation of the Fresh Food Precinct. Decibel Architecture were approached by Vicinity Group to propose an alternative design that reimagined and reinvigorated the site into a fine dining attraction, transforming Chadstone’s current southern entry into an iconic landmark.</p>
<p>Taking inspiration from the radial symmetry of a shell, the pavilion’s design (a nod to the Fibonacci sequence), was influenced by Japanese forms and shapes, referencing the folded and pleated structures found in the presentation of food and traditional crafts. The thin layers of the building’s segmented envelope delicately pinch and fold under itself along a curve not unlike origami, creating movement in both plan and elevation. The shell-like exterior also allows the structure to form a protective boundary between busy roads and the pedestrian entrance to the mall, wrapping patrons in its enclosure. The materiality builds on the idea of layering and protection, with round tiles stacked to form a scale-like membrane on the pavilion’s surface.</p>
<p>Designed to house Chadstone’s finest Japanese restaurant, the Fresh Food Iconic Pavilion envisioned a sublime new dining experience for shoppers and visitors to enjoy, elevated by architectural craftsmanship to create a building that is itself a piece of art.</p>
<h6>Site</h6>
<p>Responding to a complex, dense and multi-faceted context, the proposed site would form a free-standing ‘island’ building that negotiated several antithetical interfaces in close proximity. The proposed pavilion location would generate high-traffic pedestrian routes to nearby busy food and beverage tenancies, as well as the extended mall facilities. Additionally, site challenges created by heavy vehicular traffic as well as additional pedestrians in the vicinity, raised the issue of an impact barrier to protect both the building and pedestrians.</p>
<p>The pavilion’s design responds to this context in the duality of the building’s form – being open and permeable to the north while creating a series of solid and secure protective shells to the south. These shells are nested within one another, creating opportunities for natural light, as well as vistas to the prominent southern gateway. The primary point of entry is pinched into the centre of the pavilion, creating a sense of entry and bringing pedestrian flow and external ground plane inside.</p>
<h6>Integrated Fit-out</h6>
<p>In lieu of a traditional tenancy procurement method, defined by a cold shell base build with separate fit-out by the tenant, the pavilions’ fit-out, services, and back of house were purpose designed and integrated into the structure and form. </p>
<p>The fit-out concept expanded on the design intent of the pavilion form. The floor plan layout and programs were arranged as a series of discrete yet integrated pods sitting on a continued external ground plane treatment of bluestone pavers – bringing the outside in, integrating plantings in between seating. The process suggests the careful arrangement and assembly of hand-crafted food on exquisite Japanese ceramic plates.</p>
<p>The folding and stacking of forms created openings and gaps between each layer of the enclosure which would allow for sunlight to be tracked and captured, animating the interior throughout the day.</p>
<h6>Computational Design</h6>
<p>Advanced computational design was deployed to rationalise the structure of the double curvature forms without compromise of design intent. By utilising parametric programs, the constructability of the pavilion was simplified, with the structure conforming to traditional construction methodologies and processes.</p>
<p>The shells were covered with a rainscreen consisting of round solid aluminium powder coated discs. Individual discs were to be treated like pixels that could be powder coated in different colours, converting the pavilion envelope into a blank canvas. An engagement and collaboration with a First Nation’s artist would drive the colour treatment of the discs.</p>


1363_fresh-food-pavilion_thumbnail

1363_Fresh-Food-Pavilion_Thumbnail

Ensuite shower and entrance. Project: Ensuite at Roberts Street by Decibel Architecture

1368_ensuite-at-roberts-street-2

1368_Ensuite-at-Roberts-Street-2

Ensuite at Roberts Street

<p>The very best living spaces evolve to the needs of the people who currently inhabit them – people grow and change along with their needs. A long-time client of a Decibel designed home in the Northern suburbs approached us with an interesting (tiny) project: an ensuite. A project of this scale focusses on ensuring that every detail is carefully considered for its quality, sustainability, beauty, function, and practicality – there is literally no space for fluff. We also wanted to be playful, to optimise the tight space and use colour to complement the client’s stunning art collection.</p>
<p>Originally converted from an existing brick garage to an office space/spare bedroom, and featuring a unique garden lightwell, the home needed an additional bathroom to cater for regular guests. Given the room’s generous size, and our desire to maintain the green internal garden feature, Decibel designed a compact, jewel box ensuite within the existing space. From the entrance to the guest bedroom, the outer wall was designed as a beautiful bespoke piece of furniture, the walls purposefully falling short of the ceiling to keep the airy feel. Inside the ensuite, a burst of colour in the warm yellow tiles draws you into this joyful, private alcove. The simple warm pallet matched with custom joinery by <a href="https://www.woodbeast.com.au/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Woodbeast</a>. Gun-metal fixtures by <a href="https://www.faucetstrommen.com.au/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Faucet Strommen</a> completed the picture.</p>


Traditional Custodians

Joinery

Wash basin and vanity. Project: Ensuite at Roberts Street by Decibel Architecture

1368_ensuite-at-roberts-street-3

1368_Ensuite-at-Roberts-Street-3

1268_cv-windsor-14-web

1268_CV-Windsor-14-WEB

CV Windsor

Build4Asia Awards 2024 - Projects Outside of Hong Kong (Residential) - Gold

<p>CV Windsor is an exciting project that has radically transformed the way people live and work in Melbourne. As briefed by the client, the development was designed as a creative hub and incubator of modern professionals giving them opportunity to live and work from home.</p>
<p>The cross pollination of ideas is expressed as shared residential lounges, libraries, meeting rooms and garden areas spread across the project. CV Windsor&#8217;s effortless luxury and elegant design, perfectly position it as one of Melbourne’s most vibrant locales.</p>


Architect + Interior Design

Urban Planning + Landscape Design

<p><strong>Design Response</strong></p>
<p>CV Windsor was conceived to deliver a unique typology of living for the local area. The concept developed around the idea of a “townhouse in the sky”.</p>
<p>Within the project there are significant and generous communal spaces at the ground and roof levels – provided to establish and enable creative living interactions between residents and foster a sense of community.</p>
<p>At ground level are lounge areas, a spacious kitchen and dining areas. Located on Level 8 is a shared residential garden. This garden gives residents the opportunity to grow their own food, exercise, BBQ, or relax with friends.</p>
<p><strong>Environmental Sustainability</strong></p>
<p>Environmental sustainability featured as a high priority throughout this project. The dual aspects allows for the majority of apartments to have access to both northern and southern light as well as excellent cross-ventilation. Solar panels are used to collect energy for use in communal areas. Grey water and rainwater are harvested for reuse.</p>
<p><strong>The Developer</strong></p>
<p>The client aspired to provide an owner-occupy concept in this intensely competitive market, where dollar per square metre seems the only concern in strategic composition. Here they have succeeded not only in forming a building, but in the creation of a community.</p>
<p><strong>Rooftop Garden</strong></p>
<p>The rooftop garden allows the community to grow vertically into a shared space that promotes city views and shared experiences. Amenities include private dining spaces, communal cooking areas, a vegetable garden and stunning views.</p>
<p>Surrounded by lush gardens, this tree-top escape is now enjoyed by the residents year-round, and provides essential connection between dream, concept, and community.</p>
<p><strong>Art Facade</strong></p>
<p>The Punt Road facade was developed into an art piece by renowned Australian artist, <a href="https://www.magmagalleries.com/kim-westcott-cover/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kim Westcott</a>. Using her printmaking background to reimagine Australian landscapes and the flora and fauna they hold; Kim has created a facade that exudes experience and growth of a building connected to nature and community.</p>
<p><strong>Interior Design</strong></p>
<p>Creating a home in the bustling city suburb of Windsor required attention to detail and the affectual qualities and materials that define a space. CV Windsor&#8217;s interiors were designed not only with material quality in mind, but with careful spatial planning that created beautiful living environments, comfort, ownership and a sense of place.</p>
<p>Free flowing open-plan areas are complemented by secluded working and living zones to allow both joint experiences and individual comfort.</p>
<p>The development of working areas within the apartments delivered multiple modes of living that encourage the occupier to curate their individualised home experience.</p>
<p><strong>Creating A Community</strong></p>
<p>CV Windsor endeavours to connect people and improve the lives of the occupants that call 105 Punt Road home. By delivering apartments designed outside of the box, this multi-residential project makes a case to redefine the way modern high-density communities live.</p>
<p>Whether it is through sustainable design, healthy living environments, shared spaces for communities to connect or a unique place to call home, CV Windsor creates a place for people to live, work and play.</p>


1268_cv-windsor-10-web-2

1268_CV-Windsor-10-WEB

1327_the-lume-10-web

1327_The-Lume-10-WEB

The LUME

WILD Design Awards 2023 Pop-Ups, Display, Exhibit & Set Design - Silver

Australia Design Awards 2023 Pop-Ups, Display, Exhibit & Set Design - Silver

Good Design Awards 2022 Architecture and Installation Design - Winner

Australian Interior Design Awards 2022 Installation Design - Commendation

<p>The LUME Melbourne is Australia’s first permanent digital art gallery. A gallery in which the visitor is fully immersed in a multi-sensory experience. The LUME Australia has created highly curated content across a series of art-orientated themes for both the public and private functions. It is housed across two of the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre&#8217;s (MCEC) massive halls and provides a series of educational, retail and operational spaces around the principal Main Gallery.</p>
<h6>Collaboration</h6>
<p>Our client, Grande Experiences came to Decibel Architecture with a strong concept based on its years of creating and hosting travelling immersive shows. We worked closely with the client’s technical team, a specialist consultant team and the building contractor to deliver the project in a highly coordinated way within a fast-tracked programme. Due to its contextual and operational requirements, the project was subject to a level of architectural and legislative challenges unusual for exhibition design projects. We were able to apply our architectural expertise, not only in design, but in delivery, stake-holder management, consultant team coordination and communication to successfully complete The LUME Melbourne.</p>
<h6>The Journey</h6>
<p>A matte black gateway projects dramatically into the MCEC’s entry concourse, disrupting its extruded continuity and clearly marking the gallery’s entry-point. The patrons’ journey begins as they pass through one of the three wall-papered tunnels into the intimately lit Introduction and Interpretation space. The visitor’s sense of space is disorientated and compressed as they pass through a light locking corridor before it is expanded when emerging into the vastness of the Main Gallery.</p>
<h6>Design and Experience</h6>
<p>The architectural environment is designed to allow every surface, including the floor, to become the canvas upon which the gallery’s animated content is projected. Large-scale objects in space subtly divide the space into experiential zones inviting different perspectives of the immersive programme. A long mezzanine with a frameless glazed balustrade provides an elevated advantage point down onto the gallery space.</p>
<h6>Delivery</h6>
<p>The fast-track delivery model employed for the project allowed the works to be delivered within the client’s programme. A first stage of documentation allowed the structural and acoustic work to commence on site whilst the architectural and building services scope were being documented and certified. Through careful programming, the Main Gallery space was able to be handed over to The LUME’s technical team to install and commission its audio-visual infrastructure, whilst the auxiliary spaces were built and fitted out.</p>
<p>The delivery of major built elements such as an 80m long, 11m high acoustic wall between The LUME’s tenancy and its neighbouring hall were possible due to the successful management of a large array of project stakeholders. Finally, the committed working relationship between client, architect and builder ensured clear lines of communication and understanding of responsibilities and led the exceptional built and experiential outcomes.</p>


Structure, Services + Fire Engineering

Structure (Fitout)

Building Surveyor

Construction

1316_scg-zero-1a-1

1316_SCG-Zero-1A-1

SCGZero+

Melbourne Design Awards 2021 Architecture Commercial (International) - Gold

<p>The SCGZero+ project is designed to be the first “5Zero” office building – Zero carbon, Zero energy, Zero water, Zero waste, and Zero formaldehyde that houses 400+ staff in Shanghai, China. The project seeks to build on Decibel Architecture’s experience in designing <a href="https://db-a.co/projects/pixel-building/">Pixel</a>, to achieve a new global benchmark and highest scores in LEED, BREEAM, WELL, China3Star and China Healthy Building. The goal is to achieve the world’s most exemplary status in sustainability in order to help China and the world in our race to reach net zero as soon as possible. Invested and constructed by Shanghai Construction Group (SCG), Decibel Architecture and SCG LDI have gathered a team of the world’s best experts in international and local sustainable design to realise the project. Working from our globally distributed virtual offices throughout 2019 and 2020, the team has minimised CO2 in design, and sought to ensure the very best innovation and insight is applied in design thinking.</p>


Architect + Landscape Design

Interior Design + Workplace Planning

Local Design Institute

ESD + MEP Consultant

<h6>Site</h6>
<p>Located in Taopu Zhichuang City, Putuo District, Shanghai, the project site area is 3422 sqm, with a total construction area of 11509 sqm – 4548 sqm below ground and 6313 sqm above ground. The proposal applies green concepts and technologies throughout the entire life cycle of the building’s design, construction, operation, and maintenance. It implements the highest domestic green standards to minimise energy consumption and environmental pollution, whilst maximising comfort and enjoyment of its purpose.</p>
<h6>5-Zero Office Building</h6>
<p>The vision for the SCGZero+ project is driven by ‘Life’. ‘Life’ is a complex, ordered, and symbiotic relationship between the infinite threads of our world, woven into a harmonious tapestry. A project that achieves the world’s most exemplary status in sustainability must be a project that lives, and weaves harmony into its ideation, operations and built form. It is a project that communicates and celebrates the cycles of the natural world and educates culturally about the connectedness of our bodies and business to the complex, subtle and powerful rhythms of nature. Our architecture is driven by this notion of being connected and interdependent, of linkage and exchange of energy, of ideas and of vision.</p>
<h6>Construction</h6>
<p>The project adopts prefabricated construction methodologies, application of modular high-performance green building systems, aimed to minimise the workload on site. This in turn, reduces the noise, exhaust, and wastewater discharge caused by on-site operations.<br />
In addition, the solid waste generated in the different stages of construction will be minimised, and where waste is created, it will be classified according to its source, composition, physical and chemical properties, etc. for upcycling, reuse, recycling, and reclamation where possible. The management of the whole process will be translated into educational and demonstrational technical case studies for improving the systematic procedures in green construction for the future.</p>
<h6>Facade</h6>
<p>The façade is our key interface with the world, it is the key to operation and Passivhaus creation. It is airtight, triple glazed, prefabricated and extremely sophisticated. We have grown the understanding deployed in Pixel to improve the living edge, to maximise PV generation and improve daylighting. The façade of the project is its skin, and like our own skin, it is a complex interface, enabling natural ventilation, water harvesting, thermally broken structures and impressive connection to exterior views and daylight.</p>
<p>• Passive House<br />
• PV Facade<br />
• Natural Ventilation<br />
• Shading<br />
• Triple Glazing</p>
<h6>Daylight</h6>
<p>The skylights in the building – including the main atrium – introduce more natural light into the space, paying homage to the concept of healthy workplace architecture. Interior lighting will utilise daylight sensors and circadian lighting systems to continuously adjust the colour temperature of the light in time and context. This solves the problem of fatigue caused by traditional lighting environments, and in turn reduces energy consumption when compared with traditional lighting.</p>
<h6>Purpose</h6>
<p>The purpose of the SCGZero+ is aligned with Pixel’s role in the last Decade – to demonstrate and deliver on innovative, transferrable technologies that can lead the path to changing and improving the rules upon which sustainable buildings are built. Key to this is the understanding of an integrated network of ecological thinking- not just the reduction of energy and cost, but the integration of systems and symbiosis that nature has perfected over billions of years.</p>
<p>The built form grows like a landscape – a multi-terraced organism that welcomes light, people and ideas. Our architecture inspires exploration, that human drive to discover and reveal new thoughts. It expresses the hope of growth, a striving for life and light that drives all the scales of life, from the smallest corals to the largest reefs. It celebrates the eternal realities and wisdom of recycled energy and material, with a Zero+ philosophy making the building a producer of energy, of clean water and of brilliant new ideas. The project invites the most innovative and entrepreneurial of minds to reconsider business as usual, and to set the benchmark for a connected human culture to prosper alongside a thriving nature, and not in exchange for that.</p>
<h6>Legacy</h6>
<p>Zero+ represents a new way of building, of embedding technology and symbiosis in everyday thinking, and of celebrating Life in this new and challenging century.</p>


1316_scg-zero-1a-3

1316_SCG-Zero-1A-3

1336_m1-tower-apartments-1-cropped-web

1336_M1-Tower-Apartments-1-cropped-WEB

Crescent Eco Tower

<p>Showcasing the best of residential offerings from the Xuan Mai Eco Green precinct, the Crescent Eco Tower for Hyatt House achieves an iconic design at a premium location. The crescent-shape and stepped form of the tower allowing for stunning views from the terraced balconies toward the site’s premier communal garden and cultural hub and across to Ho Chi Minh City. The site sits adjacent to our <a href="https://db-a.co/projects/eco-green-tower-hyatt-regency/">Eco Green Tower</a> project for Hyatt.</p>


Lead Consultant + Architect

Local Architect

Engineering

Fire Life Services

<h6>Facade</h6>
<p>The sophisticated facade is designed to provide articulation and emphasize the transitioning form, reminiscent of the surrounding wetlands. The perforated panels provide privacy to residents and emit a soft dappled light when illuminated at night.</p>
<h6>Podium</h6>
<p>The podium of the tower has been carefully crafted to connect into the greater Eco Green Tower shopping and events precinct. The towering form seamlessly folding into the ground, drawing visitors through to the heart of the complex, unveiling its tropical oasis. The pedestrian connections have been arranged to reveal the ground plane, providing striations across the site dappled in lush greenery, promoting biophilia and a sense of wellbeing.</p>
<h6>Amenities</h6>
<p>Tower residents enter the building through grand, double-height lobbies, connected to cafes and supermarkets. The communal hub provides function space and pool facilities accessible to all residences. The upper-terraced apartments activate the roof of the building and present unique penthouse opportunities with split-level living arrangements and presidential penthouses.</p>
<h6>Vision</h6>
<p>The Crescent Eco Tower for Hyatt House forms part of the urban uplift and development of District 7 – its architectural prowess and cultural offerings securing this vibrant location as a premium destination for both local and international visitors.</p>


1336_m1-tower-apartments-6-web

1336_M1-Tower-Apartments-6-WEB

1336_m1-tower-apartments-7-web

1336_M1-Tower-Apartments-7-WEB

1317_hcmc-eco-green-saigon-1-web

1317_HCMC-Eco-Green-Saigon-1-WEB

Eco Green Tower: Hyatt Regency

Melbourne Design Awards 2021 Architecture – International – Proposed Gold

Asia-Pacific International Property Design Awards 2020-2021 New Hotel Construction & Design Vietnam Winner

Build4Asia Awards 2020 Future Projects Category Winner

<p>Eco Green Tower: Hyatt Regency in Saigon, Vietnam. We are thrilled to announce that Hyatt (the anchor tenant) has together with our client the Xuan Mai Group, upgraded the offer from the select service Hyatt House and Hyatt Place to a full 5-Star Hyatt Regency, occupying the entire tower and podium. This new, iconic hotel destination will anchor the premium Eco Green Saigon Precinct in District 7 of Ho Chi Minh City – a brilliant new symbol of vision and integrity.</p>
<p>To visit our existing Hyatt House and Hyatt Place proposal from the competition phase, please visit <a href="https://db-a.co/projects/eco-green-tower-competition/">Eco Green Tower Competition</a>.</p>
<p>More updates to come.</p>


Engineering 

Structural Concepts

Wind Engineering

<h6>Podium</h6>
<p>The first series of progress sketches developing the ideation on the podium for Eco Green Hyatt Regency. A mountain scape of cascading, pale concave concrete blocks, rising to the soaring cityscape of filigree glazed elements beyond, the podium houses a comprehensive programme of conference centres, restaurants, spa and wellness facilities for the major hotel development above.</p>
<h6>Landscape Modules</h6>
<p>The careful treatment of various landscape modules around the podium. Activating the ground plane and providing various thresholds for the community between the street edge and podium to high-rise, landscape and planting soften and occupy the striking tower forms as they ascend to some of the highest sky-gardens in Vietnam.⁠⁠</p>
<h6>Entry Lobby</h6>
<p>The Entry Lobby of Eco Green Hyatt Regency Saigon is a spectacular space. Rising externally to the tower tip, and soaring internally the full height of the podium, the Lobby is designed as a series of radial, hanging ribs, each shaped to create the fluid internal volume, and rising as filigree elements to draw the volume into a coherent whole. The Lobby is the heart of the Hyatt – it leads to the diverse and comprehensive podium amenities and is gateway to the tower lifts, delivering patrons directly to their room level, and directly to the Skydeck and SkyDisc Restaurant at the pinnacle of the tower.</p>
