Leading Australian integrated property development group, Aqualand, is one step closer to unveiling its latest contribution to the evolving inner-Sydney skyline, following a ‘topping out’ ceremony at the company’s latest landmark project, AURA by Aqualand, on Thursday 20 July 2023.
Located at 168 Walker Street, on the edge of the rapidly transforming North Sydney CBD, AURA by Aqualand has now marked the completion of its uppermost floor, which rises 29 stories above the streetscape. To celebrate the milestone, Aqualand’s Managing Director, Jin Lin, was joined by North Sydney Mayor Zoe Baker, and Principal of the project’s architect Woods Bagot, Jason Fraser, along with a selection of key project stakeholders, at a small formal ceremony.
The event was held on the rooftop of AURA by Aqualand which boasts panoramic vistas over the iconic Sydney Harbour and CBD. In keeping with tradition, the event included the craning of a ceremonial evergreen tree to the top of the building as a symbol of good luck.
AURA by Aqualand represents the fifth residential project delivered by Aqualand since the company’s launch in 2014 and is well on the way to joining a portfolio of other notable completed projects such as BLUE at Lavender Bay in Milsons Point and The REVY at Darling Island.
The $1B mixed-use project is the second to be delivered by Aqualand’s internal construction arm, Aqualand Construction. Once complete, it will comprise 386 luxury apartments above a richly landscaped two two-story all podium and commercial spaces.
AURA by Aqualand is Sydney’s latest example of architecture as sculpture, a category that includes some of the city’s most memorable buildings, from the white sails of the Sydney Opera House to the giant plant-draped bowls of Barangaroo House and Darling Harbour’s nest-like mixed-use building, The Exchange.
Aqualand Group Managing Director, Jin Lin, says the project is a testament to the developer’s genuine commitment to collaborating with world-leading partners to deliver luxury projects that create dynamic communities and proud legacies for future generations. “We couldn’t be more excited to reach this milestone and look forward to welcoming our future residents to AURA by Aqualand by the middle of next year, where they will enjoy an enviable lifestyle in the heart of this rapidly transforming and prestigious precinct.”
Aqualand’s Executive Director of Development & Construction, Tom Catalovski, said he was proud of his internal construction team’s commitment to delivering the project. “While there’s still plenty of work to be done, with the facade installation currently at level 20 and rising a level each week, and inside the residence’s kitchens are being installed and the tiling of bathrooms is progressing its way up the building floor by floor, it’s very exciting to see the building reach its highest point.”
Woods Bagot’s streetscape transforming design comes in the form of an elegantly curved building with a gracefully undulating facade which creates an illusion that the single structure is divided into four separate towers, with staggered peaks stepping down from level 29 to level 23. The distinctive hourglass shape cinches in at the level-nine ‘waist’ of the building, where the resident’s community centers are located.
Jason Fraser says the design draws inspiration from the eroded sandstone forms of Sydney Harbour and the ever-changing play of light on the water.
You can read more about this project at Aqualand.