Sidney-based architecture firm, Tony Owen Partners started in 2004 bringing a new approach to visualization and design to the evolving modern world. The design philosophy concentrates on revolutionizing contemporary ideas creating ‘realizable architecture’ that challenges the norms and ‘Elastic Design’ which is an architecture that is responsive to changing variables like environmental and structural factors. The firm is known to build distinct and uniquely structured buildings that set them apart from the ordinary. Commercial and sustainable development strategies are given importance along with extensive consultations with the relevant local authorities. So far, the firm has completed several residential, commercial, sports, institutional projects. Changing the face of Sydney with striking structures, they have also done projects out of Australia including Abu Dhabi, Vietnam, and Shanghai.
1. The Abu Dhabi Ladies Club, UAE | Tony Owen
Spread across 30,000sqm the Abu Dhabi Ladies Club is a club designed for the women of UAE. Completed in 2015, the facility has a wide range of spaces designed for sports, culture, and leisure. It has a conference hall, indoor stadiums, outdoor stadiums, spas, swimming pools and also health facilities. Located on a beachfront it is designed to include water parks as well. Spaces are designed to improve small businesses and education. A large number of Arabic traditional motifs, patterns, and materials are used in the project to blend with the cultural context. The roof is a double fabric structure with 2 types of PVC fabric. The façade depicts the foliage pattern using stone cladding.
2. Mosaic Apartments, Australia
Located in a street filled with historic warehouses in Sidney, the mosaic apartment makes a bold statement with its façade. Built by Tony Owen Partners, it was completed in the year 2019. It is a 14 storeyed mixed-use building with the first 4 storeys being allotted for commercial activities and the other floors are residential. The façade is made up of angled mosaic windows with colourfully glazed glass in contrast with the surrounding quiet streetscape. The façade is not just aesthetically designed but also has an added environmental feature to it. The angle of the windows is calculated and placed to receive maximum sunlight throughout the day as the building is surrounded by tall buildings. The building has won several awards for its iconic façade and contextual design.
3. Bermuda Point Office,Australia | Tony Owen
Built on the edge of Lake Orr, Bermuda Point is a commercial building with a view of the lake and the Bond University. The project was completed in 2005 and is a simple and sophisticated blend of colours and sustainability principles. The site had a problem with its weak soil condition for the foundation so deep piling was done and the structure was raised one level above the ground. This resolved the problem of flooding the bank. The plan was simple and divided the space into front-back offices. There were a total of 8 divisions that overlooked the waterfront. Parking, light, and ventilation issues were also solved with great detail creating a bold statement.
4. The Curtain, Australia
The Curtain was completed in 2018. The 15-storey building has 200 residential units, retail and commercial space. The building has a panoramic view of a park on a lakefront facing north. The waveform in the structure is a concept derived from the waves in the water body nearby. The white wave pattern is achieved by using glass and pre-cast concrete alternatively. The twin towers are connected up to 6 storeys from the podium which then splits to form two neighbouring towers. The connected podium is a commercial space with cafes and retail stores adjoining the park. The apartment is not only luxurious with many facilities but is also climate responsive.
5. Danks Street Offices, Australia | Tony Owen
It is a commercial office building situated in Danks Street which is a flourishing designer’s hub. The total office area is 4000sqm with the retail and commercial area on the ground floor. The vibrant colour, openness, light, and other spatial qualities make the place interactive and engaging and bring out the creativeness in people in their working environment. The structure also has a central void that brings in light falling on lounges, avant-garde sculptures, frosted glass walkways, and glass conference rooms. The façade has a bold colour palette to create vibrancy and break away from the monotony. The façade has metal louvers and glazed glass which creates eye-catching shadow patterns and maintains the artistic vibe of the street filled with galleries and design hubs.
6. Disco Volante, Australia
Disco Volante is a rooftop bar built by them in 2019. It is constructed over a heritage building called the Nelson House which is Sydney’s first steel frame high rise building. The rooftop bar is a 2-storey structure consisting of a restaurant and a bar. The open plan features a central free-form, glass walls for seating and public spaces and masonry walls for services and kitchen areas. The glass box had disc-shaped aluminium shading elements to control the amount of sunlight within the space. This parametric designed feature forms the walls and the roof of the place creating visually appealing light and shadow patterns.
7. Moebius House, Australia
Overlooking the Sydney harbor with a gliding roof and a striking view the Moebius House was completed in 2007. It is a steel frame structure with metal frames holding large glass panels creating a glass box effect. The glass walls also increase the amount of light and heat that flows through the building. The ‘micro design’ approach using parametric design followed has helped to create an environmentally sensitive design. The form of structure is derived from the tangible solutions of spatial connectivity, view opportunities, and climatic responses. Due to the complex geometry of the house, a new assembly and fabrication process was developed to complete the project.
8. Boston University Student Housing, USA | Tony Owen
The 8-storey building was built by Tony Owen Partners and Silvester Fuller. It has 3 lecture halls, a library, an internet lounge, and a rooftop terrace with a kitchen and a café. Each module has 4 single bedrooms for every shared lounge and bathroom. The building has canyon-like slots along its side to allow light in and ensure ventilation. The windows in these slots are rhomboidal in shape giving it a bold architectural façade. There is a 7-storey glass louvered atrium at the end walls of the slots. This entire system is said to function like gills as air is drawn in and pushed out in one free movement.
9. Astor Crows Nest, Australia
A residential complex built in 2018 is spread across 5000sqm. The 4-storey apartment has 50 units. It is located on a busy street with all three sides overlooked which promoted the U-shaped plan creating a quiet central courtyard oriented towards the north for sunlight. All the entry points for the housing units are through the courtyard. A perfect balance between the public streetscape and private apartment space is achieved in the green suburban context. Specially designed origami metal screens made from laser-cut folded aluminium are used as shading devices and balustrades.
10. The Alpha, Australia | Tony Owen
The unique honeycomb-like-faced structure was completed in the year 2015. The 7-storey building comprises 70 one-bedroom and two-bedroom houses along with retail and commercial spaces. The distinct façade sets it apart from the rest. The hexagonal pod-like screen acts as an environmental barrier controlling light and ensuring privacy. The top floors are luxurious two- and three-bedroom houses that open into roof terraces with spectacular views. The use of digital software for façade design has reduced construction costs. The Alpha will be a part of the new McGill design precinct by Tony Owen Partners which is a collection of contemporary buildings and public open spaces enhancing community living.
11. The Breeze, Australia
The resort town of Mooloolaba has a lot of beaches with a very relaxing ambiance. The Breeze apartment complex also sits on a beachfront with a calming view of the ocean. Built in 2017, it has 33 flats all facing the ocean. Since the main objective was to accentuate the view of the ocean. The curvilinear form is developed by the tidal estuaries. The balconies are spaced out at every level creating a rhythm in the façade. Concrete forms and perforated mesh panels are used for the façade construction. The undulating curves give fluidity to the form making it more relatable to the context. In-situ construction with an appropriate framework is used for the construction of the curvilinear form.
12. Harley Davidson Headquarters, Australia
The Australian headquarters of Harley Davidson motorbikes company was designed by Partners in 2007. Inspired by the shape of motorbikes and their parts, the form of the building has spiked edges and metal frames holding glass windows. The plan is simple with a mezzanine overlooking the office spaces, café, showroom, etc., While the mezzanine holds technical workshops and training areas. It was built as a part of the new Lane Cove Business Park for Demian Developments.
13. Sovereign Sylvania, Australia | Tony Owen
The apartment complex was built in 2018 and has 23 town housing units overlooking the Georges River. The unique feature is the L-shaped units which help in capturing the sunlight and maintain privacy at the same time. Half of the site is left barren due to the presence of native sandstones which give it a dramatic look. The townhouses are arranged around the town square and layered in three rows according to the topography. Subtle material and colour palettes are used to create a sub-urban effect. It has white painted masonry with timber-textured concrete and the lower portions of the structure are clad in stone.
14. Paddock to Market to Plate, Australia
Paddock to Market to Plate is a vision for the future of the Flemington Market Site in Sydney by Tony Owen Partners. Located next to the Olympic stadium, the Flemington market is a historical site for Sydney’s produce market. The project proposal aims to have a total redevelopment program with technological advancements and sustainable features. Concepts like urban heat islands and integrated planning will be incorporated into the design. A blend of urban agriculture, employment, high-density Living, and market spaces is the new idea of community living envisaged by the firm. This program was done to address the needs and problems of the future and come up with design solutions for the same.
15. The Eden Art Wall, Australia |Tony Owen
Located in a busy streetscape of Sydney, the apartment complex had to be built in a constraining context. The apartment has 24 penthouses overlooking the bustling city. The apartment is in a narrow lane with apartments on its east and Frasers Central Park development overview towards the West. One of the 2 facades was next to the adjacent apartment which had living areas on that side. The façade on the west was covered with large vertical glass louvers that could be used to control the amount of light and privacy as it has bedrooms and circulation corridors on that side. The side with the vertical louvers is called the Art wall because it has different textured and coloured glass surfaces that create a distinct pattern that can be seen from a distance only.
_https://www.archdaily.com/341465/eden-art-wall-apartments-tony-owen-partners_
_https://www.archdaily.com/341465/eden-art-wall-apartments-tony-owen-partners_
_https://www.archdaily.com/341465/eden-art-wall-apartments-tony-owen-partners_
Reference List:
www.tonyowen.com.au. (n.d.). Abu Dhabi Ladies Club – TONY OWEN PARTNERS – Architects | Interiors|Planners.[online]Availableat:https://www.tonyowen.com.au/project/abu-dhabi-ladies-club [Accessed 15 Jul. 2021].
Architecture & Design. (n.d.). Construction & Architecture News. [online] Available at: https://www.architectureanddesign.com.au/news/industry-news/abu-dhabi-ladies-club-designed-by-tony-owen-partne#.
Archello. (n.d.). Bermuda Point Office Building | Tony Owen Partners. [online] Available at: https://archello.com/project/bermuda-point-office-building [Accessed 15 Jul. 2021].
worldarchitecture.org. (n.d.). Browser Error! [online] Available at: https://worldarchitecture.org/architecture-projects/hevem/mosaic-apartments-project-pages.html.
Archello. (n.d.). The Curtain | Tony Owen Partners. [online] Available at: https://archello.com/project/the-curtain-2 [Accessed 15 Jul. 2021].
Archello. (n.d.). Danks Street Offices | Tony Owen Partners. [online] Available at: https://archello.com/project/danks-street-offices [Accessed 15 Jul. 2021].
Archello. (n.d.). Disco Volante | Tony Owen Partners. [online] Available at: https://archello.com/project/disco-volante-2 [Accessed 15 Jul. 2021].
Dezeen. (2010). Moebius House by Tony Owen Partners. [online] Available at: https://www.dezeen.com/2010/02/09/moebius-house-by-tony-owen-partners/ [Accessed 15 Jul. 2021].
Archello. (n.d.). Boston University Student Housing. [online] Available at: https://archello.com/project/boston-university-student-housing [Accessed 15 Jul. 2021].
ArchDaily. (2018). Astor Crows Nest / Tony Owen Partners. [online] Available at: https://www.archdaily.com/907713/astor-crows-nest-tony-owen-partners?ad_medium=office_landing&ad_name=article [Accessed 15 Jul. 2021].
ArchDaily. (2015). The Alpha / Tony Owen Partners. [online] Available at: https://www.archdaily.com/639376/the-alpha-tony-owen-partners [Accessed 15 Jul. 2021].
ArchDaily. (2017). Breeze Mooloolaba. [online] Available at: https://www.archdaily.com/805001/breeze-mooloolaba-tony-owen-partners [Accessed 15 Jul. 2021].
www.designcurial.com. (n.d.). Tony Owen designs HQ of Harley Davidson Australia – DesignCurial.[online]Availableat: http://www.designcurial.com/news/tony-owen-designs-hq-of-harley-davidson-australia [Accessed 15 Jul. 2021].
ArchDaily. (2013). Eden Art Wall Apartments / Tony Owen Partners. [online] Available at: https://www.archdaily.com/341465/eden-art-wall-apartments-tony-owen-partners [Accessed 15 Jul. 2021].
Archello. (n.d.). Paddock to Market to Plate; Flemington 2036 | Tony Owen Partners. [online] Availableat:https://archello.com/project/paddock-to-market-to-plate-flemington-2036 [Accessed 15 Jul. 2021].
Archello. (n.d.). Sovereign Sylvannia | Tony Owen Partners. [online] Available at: https://archello.com/project/sovereign-sylvannia [Accessed 15 Jul. 2021].
