Kengo Kuma wins first Australian building

Kengo Kuma is working on his first building in Australia.

The Japanese architect has been appointed to design a civic and creative centre as part of the £1.7 billion transformation by a private company of Darling Harbour in central Sydney.

Six-storey Darling Exchange will contain a ground-floor market hall, a library, childcare centre, spaces for makers and a programme to support creative and tech start-ups. It will have a bar and restaurant on the roof.

The 30m-tall building will stand alongside a 2,700sq m square designed by Australian practice Aspect Studio to be an extension of the building. It will have a central paved area, grassed spaces and a small grove of trees. It will connect to Little Hay Street, a lane with cafes connecting Darling Square to Chinatown.

Kuma said: “Our aim is to achieve architecture that is an open and tangible as possible to the community, and this is reflected in the circular geometry that creates a building that is accessible and recognisable from multiple directions.”

The wooden screen wrapping the exterior of the building was a reference to Darling Harbour’s original role as a focal point of commerce, he said.

The development is part of a new district being built by Lendlease called Darling Square.

If approved, the building should open in 2018.