Beneath the striking silhouette of One Central Park, a story unfolds. Central Park is not just a green space. It is a testament to urban renewal. For decades a brewery dominated this Broadway site. In the 2000s, it closed. Frasers Property acquired the land in 2007.
The challenge was immense. Designers had to fit towers around existing streets. They needed to create public spaces. Connections to the city were essential. Over 30000 plants were carefully chosen. Art installations were included and pedestrian access was a must. Vehicular access was also important.
One Central Park stands as the project’s centerpiece. This residential tower boasts vertical gardens. Patrick Blanc designed them. Yann Kersalé created the LED art. The tower faces the UTS Tower. Central Park Mall is on its lower levels. A cantilevered section uses a heliostat. This reflects light into the parkland below. Watpac Construction completed it in 2013.
In 2014, Emporis ranked One Central Park East among the world’s best skyscrapers. The Council for Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat chose it as the best tall building in Asia and Australia. Later that year, it won the title of best tall building in the world.
Park Lane and The Mark form the second and third stages. Johnson Pilton Walker designed these residential buildings. They stand next to the parkland. The Mark is the second tallest building in Central Park.
Foster + Partners designed Central Park Mall. Woolworths anchors it. The mall offers over 75000 square meters of retail space.
Central Park features two parks. Chippendale Green is the main park. Balfour Street Park provides a connection to Chippendale. It opened in 2010. Chippendale Green opened in 2012.
Halo is a wind-powered kinetic sculpture. Jennifer Turpin and Michaelie Crawford created it. It was installed in Central Park in 2012. A ring turns and tilts atop a mast. It responds to the wind.
The most engaging aspect of Central Park is its interwoven attributes. These solve problems. They bring daylight into areas that would otherwise be shaded.
An old brewery sprawled over 14 acres next to Central Station since 2003. Redevelopment was controversial. Arguments raged over height, density and environmental protection. The city council was dismissed and reconstituted. Competitions were held. Master plans were redrawn and litigation was initiated.
Stanley Quek envisioned a public garden encircled by buildings. Nouvel’s building was the first completed project. It includes two towers with 623 apartments. The towers rise from a three-story podium. This podium houses a pool, restaurants and a shopping center. A glass curtain wall encloses the reinforced-concrete frame. Horizontal planters and climbing plants shroud it.
One Central Park casts a shadow over the public garden. The solution was a 148-foot cantilever and its heliostat. The idea was to bounce sunlight into the garden. It also reflects light into the shopping center’s atrium.
The upper mirror array is visible to passersby. Light artist Yann Kersal’ makes the mirrors shimmer with many hues. The lower mirror array tracks the sun. Sensors recalibrate the software to maintain the complex relationship.
Sunlight is reflected from the lower array to the upper array and then down to the ground. The mirror material has a reflectivity of about 88 percent. The quantum of sun hitting the ground is between 70 to 80 percent.
The 1000-square-meter vertical garden also generated skepticism. However, some 38000 plants thrive. They are drip-fed by reclaimed black water. Half a dozen full-time gardeners nurse them. The recycled water is also used for toilet flushing, landscaping, laundry, heating and chilling.
Central Park stands as a testament to visibility of sustainable design.