Dr Chau Chak Wing Building, University building in Ultimo, Sydney, Australia
The Dr Chau Chak Wing Building is the University of Technology Sydney business school in Ultimo, the first Australian building by architect Frank Gehry. Its 13-storey tower is clad in 320,000 custom-designed tan and brown bricks laid in bulging, wavy courses, with scattered projecting bricks and recessed rectangular windows; a glass curtain wall on one side carries white vertical lettering. The design follows a tree-house concept.
Early works and archaeological excavation ran from late 2011 to early 2012, and Lendlease was appointed in November 2012. Construction started in late 2012, the structure was topped out in late 2013, and the building was completed in November 2014. Its official opening took place on 2 February 2015; it was the first building in Australia designed by Frank Gehry.
The name honours Chau Chak Wing, a Chinese-Australian businessman and philanthropist whose $20 million gift funded construction; the "Dr" refers to honorary doctorates conferred on him. The building houses the UTS Business School, and its entrance opens onto The Goods Line, a pedestrian pathway on the eastern edge of the site.
The building is easy to spot on campus and can be viewed from outside, though interior spaces are reserved for enrolled students and staff. Visit during daylight hours to see the brick patterns and window details most clearly.
The wavy brick exterior was designed to resemble a sheet of folded paper. This playful shape came from Gehry's concept of a treehouse structure that would encourage people to work together and interact more naturally.
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