Sirius Building, The Rocks.

Perhaps the best known exponent of the Brutalist style in Australia, this iconic building, boasting unparalleled views overlooking Sydney’s Circular quay, and unmissable when passing by on the Harbour Bridge, has courted controversy since it first opened its doors in 1981.

Scope of Work.

Modata was engaged by GM Urban Design to create a series of photomontages to form the basis of their visual impact assessment for the proposed development/extension to the Sirius building.

Using the images created by moDATA, GMU were able to assess and demonstrate key findings in regards to a number of criteria including:

• maintaining key view corridors

• visual connectivity to and through the site

• the overall scale distribution on the site

• The proposal’s continuation of the original building‘s significance, massing and character

• Visual impact from key locations including the Sydney Harbour Bridge and bridge approaches, Sydney Opera House World Heritage Area and the Rocks Heritage area.

Assessing Authorities.

Given it’s location, iconic design, national significance and contentious history, this project was subject to strict government oversight:

• The site is located within The Rocks which is an ‘identified site’ under Schedule 2 of the State Environmental Planning Policy.  

• The proposal was identified as ‘State significant development’ (SSD)’ development with a capital value greater than $10 million for which the Minister for Planning is the consent authority.  

• Our work formed the basis of the visual impact component of Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) addressing the Secretary’s Environmental Assessment Requirements (SEARs). The SEARs require the EIS to address a number of issues including Design Excellence, Built Form and Urban Design, Visual and View Impact issues. 

The verifiable accuracy of our work was critical for GMU to assess the proposal and make their recommendations in absolute confidence.