BVN Stories, Events, News, Opinion — October 28, 2024
Towering Issues: Perspectives from CTBUH 2024
What if the future of urban spaces is more about harmony than height? Insights from our week at the 2024 Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.
This year's Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) ran from 23-27 September in London and Paris with BVN's UK team setting up shop in the Barbican Centre and welcoming principals from our Sydney and Brisbane studios as well as collaborators, clients and conference attendees.
With the theme of New or Renew, this year's conference promised a deep dive into the urban density dilemma. Experts from across the globe gave presentations on adaptive reuse success stories, building urban resilience, improving habitat, protection from natural and human-made threats, and opportunities for innovation in construction.
The focus on New and Renew at this year’s CTBUH conference was incredibly timely and important, especially as we confront challenges like building obsolescence and the growing risk of stranded assets—issues that are particularly critical in the UK’s built environment. It's essential for us to remain engaged in these discussions, sharing knowledge and insights to help drive a more sustainable and resilient future.
Matthew Blair – Principal
Balancing economic viability and environmental sustainability was high on the agenda. It was very evident that tall buildings and urban precincts are high stakes territory for the vested interests of developers and engineers. While there was much talk of sustainability, it was often framed through the lens of commercial gain.
‘Density is the sustainable solution that equates to higher yields with less energy use per person’ was a common refrain. By contrast, Toronto – host for CTBUH 2025 – has built the largest number of tall buildings of any city in the last 15 years while maintaining what they call ‘quality habitation’. With that, there was a welcome shift in emphasis toward liveability – an area where BVN has much to contribute.
Greenland Centre – Sydney's tallest apartment tower.
The upcycled skyscraper Quay Quarter Tower. 3XN with Executive Architect, BVN.
Atlassian HQ – the cornerstone of Sydney's urban renewal precinct, Tech Central. BVN and SHoP architects.
In their presentation A Story of Reinvention: Three Buildings as part of the session Transforming Cities, Driving Sustainability and Connectivity, Principals Catherine Skinner and Matthew Blair shared our expertise in ambitious upcycling and adaptive reuse at a city-wide scale.
Since the 2000 Olympics, Sydney has undergone a remarkable transformation, driven by innovative urban design and new built environments. Significant infrastructure projects, new commercial spaces and tall buildings have revitalised the CBD. The breadth of development has enhanced connectivity and accessibility, creating a more vibrant and sustainable urban landscape.
The talk explored three recent projects highlighting BVN’s approach to making a positive contribution to the urban environs – with a special focus on the in-progress Atlassian HQ project.
Quay Quarter
Atlassian's
Greenland Centre
Collectively, these projects demonstrate our commitment to urban harmony – balancing the needs of communities and the environment for a sustainable future.
Interest in Atlassian HQ was high given the hybrid timber tower received the 2023 CTBUH Future Project Award of Excellence. This world-leading sustainable development was presented from various angles by multiple contributors including BVN. Where we focused on the architectural, social and future-of-work perspective – exploring the project's timber, carbon reduction and heritage considerations – others focused on the engineering and technical challenges of a project of this scale.
Seeing Atlassian Central presented at CTBUH 2024 in a multitude of scales and dimensions highlights the incredible collaboration required to bring this truly ambitious project to life.
Peter Titmuss – Principal
Before... Designed in the 1970s, Sirius was sold by the NSW government to JDH Capital in 2019. BVN was appointed to retain, restore and reimagine the existing structure for a new era.
After... Thoughtful design interventions include copper-clad ‘pod’ balconies that echo the Brutalist design and distinguish new from original built fabric.
As well as reinvigorating a Brutalist icon, Sirius catalyses urban renewal in The Rocks precinct of Sydney Harbour.
In their session, Principals Peter Titmuss and Phillip Rossington explained what it took to Retain, Restore and Reimagine: The Sirius Building. As well as stabilising and renewing one of Sydney's prominent modernist buildings that would have otherwise been lost to demolition, Sirius
It was particularly meaningful to present this project, focused on breathing new life into a Brutalist concrete icon, while standing 10,000 miles away in another globally renowned Brutalist landmark—the Barbican. The setting underscored the shared architectural legacy and the importance of preserving and transforming these unique structures for future generations.
Being part of this year’s CTBUH conference was a great opportunity to showcase some of our latest projects that truly resonated with the overarching theme and with the audience. CTBUH continues to provide an invaluable platform for us to benchmark our work on a global scale, and it serves as a springboard for developing our ideas and shaping the future of architecture internationally.
Phillip Rossington – Principal
Taking a deliberately circular stance, our stand was made of a plywood kit of parts, inspired by our socially sustainable venture, Re-ply.
CTBUH draws an international crowd and those walking past found themselves drawn to explore our projects and talk with our team.
It was good to experience CTBUH from multiple perspectives this year—as a speaker, attendee, and juror for one of the awards categories. I look forward to an even more refined future program with a laser focus on sustainability and regenerative design, allowing for deeper engagement and discussion on these key topics.
Catherine Skinner – Principal
BVN was a Gold Sponsor of CTBUH 2024. We extend our gratitude to our team, audience and the organisers for making this a valuable opportunity for knowledge sharing and connecting with industry representatives across the built environment.
Atlassian Central is co-owned by Atlassian and Dexus. Dexus is the development manager and the builder is Built in joint venture with Obayashi (BOJV).
Quay Quarter Tower is owned by Dexus Wholesale Property Fund (DWPF), Mirvac Wholesale Office Fund (MWOF) and Rest Super
