Gehry has worked in close collaboration with the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS) Business School on the unique design that will foster openness and collaboration in teaching and research, and engagement with business and the community.
The $150 million business school building has been designed based on the idea of a tree-house structure. Dubbed as ‘The Treehouse’, the 11-storey vertical design features branches of research and academic spaces. According to Frank Gehry, the school structure has a trunk and core of activity and branches for people to connect and do their private work. Another notable design feature of the building is its wrinkly facade built using a combination of yellow bricks and sharp-angled sheets of glass.
The building will have two distinct external facades, one composed of undulating brick, referencing the sandstone and the dignity of Sydney’s urban brick heritage, and the other of large, angled sheets of glass to fracture and mirror the image of surrounding buildings. The building will be distinct with extensive public spaces with an external design that complements and acknowledges its place within the immediate area and within the city.
Dr Chau Chak Wing building will be located at the corner of Ultimo Road and Omnibus Lane on a site that once housed the Dairy Farmers Cooperative and is currently being used as a car park. Some elements of the schematic design were still fluid and will be subject to some modification, pending community consultation and authority approval. Community and stakeholder consultation will take place from 17 December to 14 January 2011. Construction is due to start in early 2012 and is due for completion in time for the 2014 academic year.
The Dr Chau Chak Wing Building is part of the ten-year $1 billion UTS City Campus masterplan, which is helping transform the southern CBD and will deliver a cutting-edge and connected campus for staff, students and the broader community.
The project inspired the Australian-Chinese business leader Dr Chau Chak Wing to donate a total of $25 million to UTS; $20 million to support the new building and an additional $5 million to create an endowment fund for Australia-China student scholarships. It is the largest ever philanthropic gift by an individual for a university in Australia.
