Durbach Block Jaggers Architects and John Wardle Architects
Built on the land of the Gadigal people of the Eora nation
“A facade, of course, differs from an elevation in being a vertical surface endowed with a metaphorical or allegorical presence.”1
Colin Rowe’s critical observation is one that also distinguishes Central Park, in the inner Sydney suburb of Chippendale, from its surrounding urban setting. Phoenix is located on a modest side street bordering the precinct’s farrago of glass and aluminium elevations. Its facade is initially jolting, as it conceals more than it reveals. You can examine the contents of its extroverted neighbours from hundreds of metres away but, even in close proximity, this cryptic urban wall shields its secrets.
But it is certainly not silent. Phoenix is acutely responsive to surrounding urban cues. The junction with Smart Design Studio’s Indigo Slam is clearly marked by the moment that concrete yields to brick, yet its tonality is seamlessly translated in
