Portico, No.1 Martin Place

The creation of a flexible and adaptable multi-tenant hub for an office building at No.1 Martin Place, Sydney.

Description

The project is located along the prestigious pedestrian spine of Martin Place in the heart of Sydney’s CBD, in the shadows of the classical arches of the grand GPO.

The previously under-utilised mezzanine level has been transformed into a tenant’s hub, cafe, gallery event and co-working space.

The design competition pitch to client Charter Hall envisaged the mezzanine as a portico, a semi-public front of house, and a place to get to know your neighbours — all under an undulating canopy of dowel. APA imagined a welcoming place to linger and slow down, a refreshing retreat from bustling Pitt Street, while visually connecting and extending a sense of public life inwards into the mezzanine and foyer.
The qualities of the existing space have been allowed to guide the design approach to architectural planning. Meeting, co-working, eating, drinking and social spaces activate the glazing perimeter and link to life on the street. Dead spaces have become nooks for larger gatherings and events, while thoroughfares become spaces for people to order coffee, perch for a quick bite, tap out an email and watch the flow of people coming and going.

A staircase from foyer level scoops people up from street level and delivers them into a warm and welcoming place for people to meet.

To slow people’s movement through the space and create intimacy and calm, a vaulted ceiling made up of dowels create a rhythm of undulating forms that reference the classical elegance of the GPO.

A flexible gallery space with sliding screens displays artworks from local collectives, the screens can be re-arranged to enclose workshop space.

Credit

Architect : @AdrianoPupilliArchitects

Photographer : @TyroneBranigan

Contractor : @GraphiteProjects

Client : @CharterHall

Role

This project was completed during my time at Adriano Pupilli Architects.

As the project lead, my involvement ranged from concept design, developed design, CDC, construction documentation and construction services.