Fast forward to 2007 and the hype begins. Singaporean developer Frasers Property purchased the site for $208 million. Frasers chief executive Dr Stanley Quek’s sales pitch was: “What we want is to create a village that people can work and play in. It’s [a place] for people who want to live in Glebe but can’t afford Glebe prices.”1 Meanwhile, changes in the New South Wales political climate saw the state government take over the authority to approve “state significant projects” from local councils. Thus in 2009 it was the state government that finally approved a new master scheme by Foster and Partners with more bells and whistles – larger floor area, more open space, trigeneration and five green stars. The masterplan included concepts for buildings designed by Foster and Partners, Johnson Pilton Walker (JPW), Tonkin Zulaikha Greer (TZG) and Tzannes Associates, as well as the site’s signature building: One Central Park designed by Ateliers Jean Nouvel (AJN).
The early soft-focus renderings of the AJN building showed two thickset towers, one taller than the other and both sporting Nouvel’s version of architectural bling: an array of audaciously cantilevered mirrors and “murs végétals” (hanging gardens/green walls) designed by Patrick Blanc. The images were met with a good deal of reservation, if not full-blown scepticism, from the architectural profession and, given the vexed history of the previous planning application, treated with trepidation by the local community. No-one quite believed the hype. I count myself among those who were cynical about the proposal at the time.