Hunter + Pitt

A bold vision to service a new CBD transport node

Hunter + Pitt is set to become the world’s tallest timber hybrid tower, and one of the world’s most sustainable buildings.

The project sets a new benchmark for office towers in its blending of architecture, lifestyle, wellbeing and environmental credentials.

The project occupies a pivotal CBD location on the corner of Hunter and Pitt Streets, servicing the adjacent Hunter Street Metro and nearby Martin Place Metro stations. It retains the heritage Pangas House and adds a 55-storey timber hybrid tower above. A new 3-storey podium building will bring restaurants into this part of the CBD, along with a public roof garden.

The distinct tower form is articulated in three stacked volumes, separated by village decks with outdoor terraces. A tapered form provides solar access to the laneway below. The crown accommodates two levels of communal space for work and play.

Guy Lake

Director, Bates Smart

At ground, the design responds to place, culture and Country. Public artworks focus on the importance of water to the Gadigal People, especially the original Tank Stream that flowed underneath. A new laneway connects Pitt Street to the Hunter Street Metro. It creates a two-level public space, activated with retail and dining and converging in a protected forecourt. Materials speak of Sydney; sandstone offcuts quarried from the site during excavation clad the podium.

Principles of reduce, reuse and restore drive the tower’s sustainability. The project prioritises high performance, access to fresh air, sunlight and landscape, and circularity of materials. Photovoltaics are integrated directly into the glass façade. This forms a solar skin that can provide the tower with 15% of its energy requirements. Timber hybrid floor structures are used for 80% of the tower, while dematerialised workplace interiors reduce embodied carbon.