BARANGAROO

HOUSE

A012 Prishita Mehta

BARANGAROO HOUSE

Architects: Collins and Turner

Year: 2017
City: Barangaroo
Country: Australia
Category: Restaurant
Floors: 2
Material: Wood
The overarching design
strategy was borne of two
crucial responses to site and
brief: the urban response of a
building ‘in-the-round’, and the
holistic integration of planting;
both edible and ornamental.

The curved plan form creates

a free-flowing space around
the building, encouraging and
welcoming movement, while
effectively stretching the
waterside terraces around the
northern and southern faces of
the building.
SITE PLAN

Barangaroo House occupies a

750-square-metre plot that is
flanked on three sides by
pedestrianised streets, and on
the other by a road, so the
architects chose to develop a
rounded building form rather
than creating three distinct
facades.
GROUND FLOOR PLAN

House Bar
FIRST FLOOR PLAN

Bea Restaurant : Offer fresh and

ambitious indoor and outdoor dining
SECOND FLOOR PLAN

Smoke Bar - Rooftop

cocktail bar
ROOF PLAN
SECTION
 FACADE
A steam-bent charred timber façade gently curves in 3
dimensions, concealing a continuous ring of edible plants and
generating a strong visual identity for the building, while the
perimeter balconies cantilever the dining spaces outward, resulting
in a uniquely outdoor atmosphere on each level.
 WAFFLE SLAB

The structural cantilevers required a complex and innovative concrete waffle slab design, with several
layers of post-tensioning, interwoven much like a cable-knit jumper, to allow two-dimensional spans,
distributing load back to the raking structural columns, and permitting a free open floor plan for future
flexibility.
SECTION

Operable glazing connects the

balconies with the internal spaces,
which feature virtually column-free
floorplans as a result of a structural
framework based around a pair of
angled columns supporting a
post-tensioned concrete waffle
slab.

The balconies are clad in a curving

facade system comprising
concentric timber dowels, which
were individually steam bent and
laminated into a series of
predetermined curves before being
fixed to aluminium brackets to
ensure even spacing across the
structure.
The key urban design agenda of a ‘building in the round’ dictated the curvilinear form, which projects
curved perimeter balconies outward in each direction. Structural cantilevers up to 8.5m permit a uniquely
outdoor atmosphere to a series of dining spaces on each level of the multi-tiered building.
MATERIAL
Innovation in detailing
was driven by the vision
for a steam-bent charred
timber facade, which
would reference the
primeval act of cooking,
while generating a
strong visual identity for
the building, and
aesthetically support the
urban strategy of a
‘building in the round’.
Prototypes were
prepared to refine the
concealed dowel fixings,
steam bending
methodology, and
openable windbreaks.
Wood cladding : Accoya cladding
Slimline operable glazing
Timber facade cladding : Accoya wood - Britton Timbers
The dowels, which utilise a robust acetylated pine called
Accoya, were charred using the traditional Japanese Shou
Sugi Ban technique. This creates a dark finish that
enhances the wood's weatherproof properties so it requires
little maintenance.
Timber floors : Tallowwood hardwood - Mint Floors
Structural : Concrete
Manufacturers : Bromic