High-sores: Why we need to rethink Australia’s ‘criminally’ bad skyscrapers

THE skylines of our capital cities have been blasted as “crappy”, “bland” and so badly designed they are “criminal”.

THEY’RE the soaring structures of glass and steel that dominate and define the heart of our major cities.

But with ever more towers being built, a global skyscraper expert has said Australia is throwing up buildings that are bland, “crappy” and are so badly designed they are “environmentally criminal”.

Yet, it wouldn’t take a lot to create a unique skyscraper design, perfect for Australia.

Barely a day goes by without news of a shiny new skyscraper in the works to puncture the clouds in cities around the world.

In Brooklyn, the tallest building in New York, outside of Manhattan, has just been approved. The 9 DeKalb Avenue tower will rise higher than Australia’s tallest skyscraper, the Gold Coast’s Q1.

In London, plans have been announced for an 80-storey skyscraper made entirely of wood while in Sydney controversy continues to plague the Barangaroo development on the Harbour and casino baron James Packer’s plan to build the city’s tallest habitable building.

The Oaktower in London would have a completely timber frame and its 93,000sqm floor plan would include terraced housing.

CRAPPY TOWERS

In Australia, there are more than 300 buildings higher than 30 stories and a further 272 in the works. This pales into insignificance when compared to China where as many as 50,000 skyscrapers could dot its cities’ skylines by 2035.

But nevertheless, new super tall towers will have a dramatic effect on Australian cities with Melbourne in the forefront of the skyscraper boom with 111 new towers followed by Sydney and the Gold Coast.

“Both Melbourne and Sydney are facing an affordability crisis and building up is a good way of solving that,” Dr Phillip Oldfield, a senior lecturer in architecture at the University of New South Wales told news.com.au.

“But my fear is, as very few are ever demolished, if we build a crappy residential tower these buildings will last 100 or 200 years.

“If we are going to meet the Paris Climate Change agreement the buildings we construct now have to perform.”

When we think of skyscrapers often what pops to mind is shiny towers, smoothly and symmetrically clad in glass. The wraparound windows reflect the sky and those inside get a stunning view.

However, these “cookie cutter” designs were the worst examples of poor design, Dr Oldfield said. “High rise has become the globalised type of buildings. You could put one up in Mumbai, London or Chicago, but there are different environments in these places.”

Buildings clad entirely in glass, “portray a homogenised architecture that has the same response to the north, south, east and west, but we know that’s not how our climate works and in the hot Australian climate it’s environmentally criminal”.

Phillip Oldfield says many of the buildings in Queensland ‘are just big, glass, air-conditioned boxes’. Picture: Luke Marsden

THE PERFECT AUSTRALIAN SKYSCRAPER

The rot set in during the 1960s when widespread air conditioning and fluorescent lighting meant buildings could ignore the weather outside.

Fully glazed skyscrapers provided lots of natural light but weren’t very energy efficient, Dr Oldfield said. The love of a good view had to be balanced with energy efficiency.

“The key to an Australian skyscraper aesthetic is climate.

“Do we need glazing all the way to the ground floor? We can frame a grand view as beautifully as an expansive view.”

A solid wall with insulation within a tower is 10 times more efficient than an enormous window, said Dr Oldfield.

“I’m not arguing for banality, I don’t think we should have efficient brick blocks everywhere, but if we make skyscrapers more responsive to the area it will improve the quality of the surroundings.”

The perfect Australian skyscraper? Only half the exterior would have windows, “enough to celebrate the view, but not too much to see the building overheat like a greenhouse,” he said.

There would be shading on the north, east and west sides that face the sun. Social spaces for people to congregate would be provided throughout, even parks in the sky. Down at ground level there would be a “generosity of space” for public use, including tall airy atriums, and retail and entertainment spaces so the building was buzzing 24/7.

He nominated Sydney’s Capita Centre, designed by renowned Australian architect Harry Seidler and wedged in between other towers with a large open public space, as a shining example.

Capita Centre in Sydney.

The 1960s concrete Sirius block in Sydney.

WOODEN SKYSCRAPERS

Dr Oldfield also weighed into the debate about one of Sydney’s most divisive buildings — the 1960s concrete Sirius block. Driven past by thousands of motorists every day as they leave the Harbour Bridge, it is seen as ugly by some but a brutal beauty by others.

“It’s a worthy building to save, for me it looks like a great geological feature carved out of Sydney rock.”

As for the towers of tomorrow? “Wooden skyscrapers are the future,” said Dr Oldfield pointing to the proposed London tower.

“One of the problems with concrete and steel is the huge environmental footprint. Timber is low carbon, fits together like Meccano and is super strong.

“All that glass and steel can leave you cold, timber is warm and tactile.”

Yet cities should not aim for iconic skylines with clusters of buildings trying to out-landmark one another. “I think you should be able to recognise a city, not necessarily by its skyline, but by its architecture and whether it made the most of its climate.”

Same, same, bit different: London’s Gherkin tower.

Barcelona’s Agbar Tower.

BUILDING BORES

Just about anything on the Gold Coast

“As you go north, a lot of buildings fail as none respond to the tropical climate and are just big, glass, air-conditioned boxes. In a climate challenged century we can’t afford to live that.”

A rainbow sets over the Q1 tower in Surfers Paradise.

One World Trade Center, New York

Nicknamed the “Freedom Tower”, it’s the skyscraper that replaced the original World Trade Center, but Dr Oldfield is not a fan. “It’s the most expensive tower ever built and it falls into the trap that it provides very little at ground level, has the same glass clad skin and lacks any uniqueness. I think it’s a real shame for such expensive high profile architecture.”

New York’s Freedom Tower is unremarkable.

SKYSCRAPER SUCCESSES

Swanston Square Melbourne

From the right viewpoint, this tower’s oddly shaped balconies suddenly reveal themselves to be the face of William Barak — the last elder of the Wurundjeri clan whose land is where Melbourne’s CBD now stands.

“It’s the perfect example of a responsive Australian skyscraper,” said Dr Oldfield. “It shows what the opportunity is and how much cooler it is than a glazed curtain to make a clear statement”.

This Melbourne building features a portrait of William Barak, formed by the balconies.

One Bligh St, Sydney

“It’s glazed all around but has this generosity in having a central 30-storey atrium space that is part of its natural ventilation system. It is also beautiful and celebrates movement and the public can work through it and experience drama.”

One Bligh St, one of Sydney’s newest buildings.