New office for ice cream company is a visual treat

Architect: Gray PuksandPhotography by Peter Bennetts From the architect: This striking office building for Charter Hall sits comfortably in its verdant surrounds. Wanting to have its own ‘voice’, as much as responding to the original collection of factories and office once occupied by Peters Ice Cream, this latest addition beckons those arriving at the Wellington Road address. Conceived as a sculptural form that slowly reveals itself upon arrival, this building features a dramatic butterfly-shaped roof that thoughtfully evokes the architecture from the post-war period. The materials, structures, shading devices and colour palette also capture the leafy environment, with its majestic gum trees. Rather than being a static office building with simple rectilinear forms, it creates a rhythm that is reminiscent of the gums with their foliage. Each façade responds to the undulating topography as much as the specific light conditions encountered. While the northern elevation ‘touches the earth lightly’, the southern elevation is well anchored.

Story by: Trends