Wharf Road | Oppenheim Architecture

Over the last 5,000 years man has worked hard to over power the natural world through the built environment – we propose to revolutionize this position. Australia possesses one of the most beautiful and dramatic geologies in the world. It is our desire to create a new type of architecture – one that is more in the family of nature than of the built environment. Taking cues from the variety of geological outcroppings across the vastness of Australia’s landscape the Wharf Road proposal quite simply represents the translation of these features into an urban condition. Nestled between ocean and rain forest, the project establishes a new benchmark for ecological design within the natural environment. Pushing up from the urban landscape the tower at Wharf Road dematerializes as it meets the skyline. Openings allow light, wind, and nature to pass through the building, across the verdant gardens poetically perched in the sky. Earnest and timeless, the architecture is simultaneously powerful, yet comfortable; straightforward, yet innovative; casual, yet elegant; fundamental, yet refined. The resulting experience is sensual and sensitive, intentionally reduced to what is essential – through bold, elemental forms, sincere materiality/detailing, and the integration of Australia’s bountiful natural resources both physical and ethereal.