A new art gallery and performance space in inner-Sydney
Phoenix Central Park is a multifaceted building with a performance space in one half and a private art gallery in the other, with the two halves connected by a central garden. As each half of the structure had its own architect, co-ordination between TTW engineers, the architects, and the builder was critical to the success of the project.The five storeys concrete frame was built with several inclined walls, including large voids creating complicated load paths through the structure. Engineered with complex curves across the street frontage and through the centre of the building, its envelope is clad with custom handmade bricks. They incorporate impressive 8m high double circular windows, which sits in a compound curved wall framed in structural steel.
The roof over the gallery spaces created design challenges. The unique geometry and the complex series of trusses, supporting pop up hoods with inclined windows, resulted in some of the truss nodes having six members connecting into a single point. TTW worked closely with architects, fabricators, and builders to rationalise the complex design and resolve buildability issues.
This unique facility created further demands on the engineering such as numerous curved off-form concrete walls and soffits, and a large atrium with one of the galleries hanging from the slab above. The theatre space is built from continuous ribbons of CLT forming a 4 lobed dome.
The structure was built close to the boundary to maximise the available space. As a result, it added complexity to the design and removal of the shoring. Each side of the shoring had a separate removal procedure, which required TTW engineers to carry out extensive finite element modelling to capture the effects on the partially built structure.
