Grey water is currently piped into the laundry and bathroom areas within the apartments, and used to water the external green areas. According to Caddey, when fully developed Central Park’s local water centre will save up to 1m litres of drinking water per day.
The building’s tri-generation plant is due to be completed in November 2015 and it is estimated to save the equivalent of 136,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emission over 25 years.
One Central Park is also unusual for its cantilever that is covered in a series of reflector panels. These panels automatically redirect natural sunlight to various parts of a nearby park during shady periods of the day.
In the evening the heliostat turns into an LED artwork called Sea Mirror, by French artist Yann Kersale. Together with Blanc’s gardens and Halo, a wind-powered kinetic sculpture in the nearby green, the three represent $8m worth of public art.
Completed late 2013, the 623 apartment building is just one part of a $2bn mixed-use development precinct. Central Park is a joint project between Frasers Property and Sekisui House and is located in a part of inner Sydney undergoing major revitalisation.
The project is on the former site of the Carlton & United Breweries. In 2007 Singaporean developer and Frasers Property chief executive Stanley Quek announced he purchased the area from Fosters Group for $208m.
The building is popular with international students due to its proximity to two of the city’s major universities: University of Technology, Sydney, and the University of Sydney.
Resident and Singaporean student Louis Tan, 25, said he chose the building due to the local amenities, including the park, and the convenient location. “I love it, it’s really green in a concrete city. It breaks the monotony of the city,” Tan said.
The building’s win comes after picking up overall winner at the 2014 Leading European Architects Forum and being voted fifth best skyscraper by construction data company Emporis earlier this year.