We can hope to see all new, better and of course green the University of Technology (UTS) Broadway Tower, Goulburn Street Car Park and other 1960s Sydney icons very soon. The new makeover will be a result of a new, innovative ‘reskinning’ technique. This simple, cost-effective, easy-to-construct skin that promises to transform an icon into a sustainable and spectacular building was developed for UTS Tower by multinational architectural practice, Laboratory for Visionary Architecture (LAVA).
Dubbed as ‘Tower Skin’, the project offers a unique opportunity to transform the identity, sustainability and interior comfort of the once state-of-the-art building. Behaving like a high performance ‘micro climate’, the Tower skin is a transparent cocoon that generates energy with photovoltaic cells and collects rainwater. In addition, it also improves day lighting and uses available convective energy to power the towers’ ventilation requirements.
The re-skinning of the 1960s icon would amalgamate sustainability, innovation, cutting edge design and creative education together. A three-dimensional lightweight, high-performance, composite mesh textile covers the tower. Surface tension allows the membrane to freely stretch around walls and roof elements, achieving maximum visual impact with minimal material effort. During night, Tower Skin will behave as both, dynamic sculpture on the Sydney skyline and an intelligent media surface, which communicated information in real time.
