{"id":17046,"date":"2017-02-28T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-02-28T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/architizer.wpengine.com\/cplusc-sirius-building\/"},"modified":"2022-05-31T07:29:08","modified_gmt":"2022-05-31T11:29:08","slug":"cplusc-sirius-building","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/inspiration\/industry\/cplusc-sirius-building\/","title":{"rendered":"Epic Brutalism: CPlusC Envisions a Tetris-Like Addition for Sydney\u2019s Controversial Sirius Building"},"content":{"rendered":"

Australian firm CplusC Architectural Workshop<\/a> has released a radical proposal to reinvigorate the demolition-threatened Sirius building in Sydney. Their design features a Tetris-like addition to the famous brutalist social housing structure that is strikingly similar to Moshe Safdie<\/a>\u2019s Habitat 67<\/a> in Montreal.<\/p>\n

Like Habitat 67, Sirius is a model community and housing complex that changed the way the city viewed development in Sydney\u2019s Rocks district in the 1970s and 80s. Though it sparked controversy upon completion, Sirius stands today as a symbol of strength and inclusion in the city.<\/p>\n

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The existing Sirius Building; via ArchitectureAU<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n

Designed by government architect Tao Gofers for the North Street Wales (NSW) Housing Commission in 1978, the Sirius building is the only high-rise development in the neighborhood, offering exclusive views of the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge. The modular structure was inspired by the Japanese metabolist movement<\/a> and consists of 79 residential concrete cubes in a stacked-box formation. CplusC\u2019s proposal adds a series of towers also featuring staggered blocks and terraces to the iconic complex.<\/p>\n

\u201cImmersed not only in greenery throughout all living spaces,\u201d the studio said, \u201cthe pods branch off the current vertical circulation cores, providing a practical link between old and new.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Renderings of CplusC\u2019s proposed addition<\/i><\/p>\n

In a blog post last September titled \u201cLet\u2019s get Sirius about heritage<\/a>,\u201d CplusC urged the community to support the Save Our Sirius Foundation<\/a> (SOS), which raised funds to challenge a former ruling that denied the building a spot <\/a>on the State Heritage Register \u2014 something that would permanently protect it from being demolished. Mark Speakman, NSW Heritage Minister, instead proposed that the site be sold and redeveloped for financial gain. This plan is part of a wider goal to sell off public housing throughout the nearby Miller Point neighborhood, which some argue may marginalize the city\u2019s low-income residents as well as impinge on the other architectural gems in the area \u2014 including the iconic Opera House.<\/p>\n

The SOS preservation campaign is backed by Sydney\u2019s Mayor Clover Moore as well as Australian Institute of Architects President Ken Maher and has incited a ban on unionized workforces and public protests. Last September, over 1,500 architects and people gathered in opposition<\/a> to the ruling. \u201cArchitects have a reputation for many things, but demonstrating in the streets isn\u2019t typically one of them,\u201d said CplusC in the post, \u201cIt\u2019s a sign that something pretty significant is happening.\u201d<\/p>\n

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A visualization of LAVA’s proposal; image \u00a9 LAVA<\/i><\/p>\n

CplusC isn\u2019t the only firm to produce an alternative design for the Sirius building. In 2015, LAVA released conceptual drawings<\/a> of Sirius that included upgrading amenities and adding a \u201cclip-on\u201d curved balcony to each apartment in an attempt to improve the relationship between the brutalist building and the sophisticated landscape of the harbor. Gofers himself was pleased with the idea<\/a>. While LAVA\u2019s design is an improvement, it\u2019s much more subdued than that of CplusC and doesn\u2019t add any more residences to the complex.<\/p>\n

Some may argue that latest proposal by CplusC is over the top, unbuildable and that it overwhelms the original structure. But to convince people that a building shouldn\u2019t be demolished, a new vision of what is possible must be drawn out. \u201cThe Sirius project is equal parts provocation and conceptual catalyst,\u201d the architects told Dezeen<\/a>, \u201ca spur to shift thinking and engage with place-making on a new and larger scale as much as a practical proposal.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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Renderings of CplusC\u2019s proposal<\/i><\/p>\n

If a larger development is the goal, why not restore the Sirius to its former glory \u2014 paint it white as it was originally intended \u2014 and build it out with a complementing piece of sustainable design that respects the neighborhood\u2019s contextual history? Economic diversity, mixed tenure housing and attention to preservation are key components that make landmark communities like The Rocks places of future equity. A respectful yet adventurous extension could work here.<\/p>\n

Right now, only two tenants occupy Sirius. With a major revamp in addition to its official listing as a state-protected heritage site, Sirius could be so much more than the eyesore and bankrupt building that many people see it as today. Speakman\u2019s ruling will be challenged by the NSW Land and Environment Court on April 6 and 7.<\/p>\n

Tao Gofers will also be giving architectural tours of Sirius from March 11 \u2013 25 during Art Month Sydney<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Sirius building is the only high-rise development in the neighborhood, offering exclusive views of the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"architizer_featured_type":"projects","architizer_featured_image":"1958350","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,3],"tags":[],"architizer_project":[],"architizer_brand":[9109,9050],"architizer_firm":[9193,9338],"architizer_product":[],"class_list":["post-17046","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-industry","category-inspiration","architizer_brand-cplusc","architizer_brand-gemwood-interiors","architizer_firm-cplusc-architectural-workshop","architizer_firm-world-architecture-community"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nEpic Brutalism: CPlusC Envisions a Tetris-Like Addition for Sydney\u2019s Controversial Sirius Building - 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