Woods Bagot’s winning scheme for a luxury lifestyle hotel and office tower at 4-6 Bligh Street in central Sydney proposes an extraordinary urban experience from street level to crown. Competition juror and City of Sydney’s director of city planning, development and transport, Graham Jahn AM, said that of the six invited design entries, Woods Bagot’s was determined by the jury to be the most convincing response to the competition’s design, planning and commercial objectives.
Owned by Singapore-based investment group SC Capital Partners Group on behalf of its RECAP Fund series, the site is flanked by a mix of commercial and hotel buildings, shops, restaurants and cafes. The tower scheme for 4-6 Bligh Street is an integrated, elegant and coherent composition, creating two addresses for the hotel and commercial uses. Carving a timeless and sculptural form within the congested skyline, Woods Bagot principal and Sydney design leader Ian Lomas described the tower as an elegantly legible anchor at the heart of the city.
Image © Woods Bagot
Overarchingly, the design is a genuinely bespoke response to its inner-city context. Chairman of SC Capital Partners Group Suchad Chiaranussati explained that Woods Bagot had captured their vision to create Sydney’s preeminent luxury lifestyle hotel and office development, offering guests and occupiers a place to “stay, work and play” within the prime financial precinct. Within the tower, each function is located in its optimum location. On the lower levels engaging with the street, a three-level ‘urban room’ with retail and separate entries for the hotel and offices welcomes Sydneysiders and guests alike.
The lower ground level garden porte-cochere offers a discrete and unhurried arrival and departure. At street level a sweeping, shaded veranda leads to gardens, grand stairs and retail, and the upper level features a city brasserie and co-working. A clubhouse with a pool and wellness, childcare, and co-working facilities tops the nine-level commercial office podium set within a garden. From here, the hotel rooms and suites rise up the tower, terminating with the public sky living room and reception on the fiftieth floor.
Image © Woods Bagot
At the very top of the building, a rooftop restaurant, bar and garden offer panoramic views studded with the beauty of Sydney Harbour, the Heads and parks. Verdant and lush, the building is dedicated to incorporating nature throughout. Competition juror and City of Sydney’s director of city planning, development and transport, Graham Jahn AM, said “4-6 Bligh Street is the first project to take advantage of the City of Sydney’s Central Sydney Planning Strategy and fulfils all the criteria for quality development of the central business district into the future.“
The slender hotel tower and infill podium will complement the extraordinarily rich setting of superb heritagelisted buildings that surround the site. These include the Skidmore Owings and Merrill designed former Wentworth Hotel, now Sofitel; the former CML Building by Emil Sodersten and former Qantas House by Felix Tavener of Rudder Littlemore & Rudder,” said Jahn. The development is slated for completion in September 2022. Source by Woods Bagot.
Image © Woods Bagot
- Location: Sydney, Australia
- Architect: Woods Bagot
- Project Team: Ian Lomas, Oscar Reyes, Chris Yoo
- Client: SC Capital Partners Group on behalf of its RECAP Fund series
- Status: 1st prize architectural competition
- Height: 226m
- Levels: 55 above ground (rooftop restaurant at level 54, and bar at level 55)
- Year: 2019
- Images: Courtesy of Woods Bagot
Image © Woods Bagot 
Image © Woods Bagot Image © Woods Bagot 
Image © Woods Bagot 
Image © Woods Bagot Image © Woods Bagot 
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