Two of Australia’s finest, most celebrated architectural practices, John Wardle Architects and Durbach Block Jaggers, have come together to collaboratively design an arresting, high profile undulating brick building for Phoenix Central Park Gallery & Performance Space in Sydney’s Chippendale.
From the street, passers-by are greeted with a shape-shifting brick façade, that in moments appears straight and angular, while in others it flows freely much like the rippled surface of water. A glass oculus punched into its side becomes a looking glass from which those within can peer out at the world.
Both studios individually designed differed aspects of the interior. The bell-shaped performance space was brought to life by Durbach Block Jaggers, who modelled the interior off of Elizabethan-era theatres. Architects explain movement from the exterior into the interior as an “unexpected leap from the ordinary to a secret space of held peace.” The room curves around occupants as if it were the carved interior of a sinuous cave. Pale timber cladding lines the walls, before seamlessly continuing onto the curving ceiling – creating a shell that feels warm and protective, despite its dramatic theatricality.