PROJECTS

Jones Bay Wharf

DETAILS

Arch / Design:		Bates Smart (web)
Consultant:		PTW (web)
Project Manager:		Multiplex Constructions (web)
Type:		Office
Year:		2001
Location:		Sydney
Photographer:		Sharrin Rees

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Jones Bay Wharf is a $175 million refurbishment of the last remaining wharf on Sydney Harbour. It is also the only wharf to have pylons on dry land as well as in the water. Historically it was one of the migrant arrival ports for Sydney ie passenger terminal

The aim was to sensitively preserve its industrial maritime qualities while adapting the existing structure to provide contemporary office space.
The wharf consists of 2 sheds with upper and lower levels divided by a central roadway. The northern half of the wharf will contain small strata titled offices , the suthern half will contain larger office tenancies.
The office design solution was a linear mezzanine inserted laterally across the building every second structural bay with voids between. The mezzanine edge aligns with the truss over allowing the truss to be viewed three dimensionally as a space defining element and creating a tension between old and new.
The support services are contained in an enclosed linear volume beneath the mezzanine. Sliding wall panels hide theses services and are expressed as joinert items.
The stair is carved out of this solid volume and is intentionally suppressed as an expressive element to emphasis the spatial volume of the interior

Bates aim is to sensitively preserve the wharfs' maritime industrial qualities while adapting the existing structure to provide contemporary strata title office space suites. Jones Bay Wharf will be one of the few opportunities to have office space in a part of Sydney Harbour's maritime heritage. The new interior additions are clearly expressed as modern insertions, detached from the heritage fabric. The insertions respond to the rhythm of the wharf, and integrate the heritage structural elements such as the trusses, columns, and cargo doors so that they form an integral component of the interiors space. The office suites address both the wharf apron and the internal street.
Each suite has a private outdoor terrace on the harbour side creating the opportunity for outdoor meetings and functions. The interior volume has been sculpted to maximise the news towards the harbour, while enabling an appreciation of the distinctive volume and industrial fabric of the historic shell. The interlocking spatial volumes of the interiors allow the occupants to utilise the volumes dynamically. The planning creates a discrete separation between spaces, which provides privacy without the need for enclosing walls or rooms. Flexibility is created for tenants to occupy suites of varying sizes by combining two or more adjacent suites. These combinations create suites of differing spatial volumes to accommodate the needs of various owners and occupiers.