Francis-Jones Morehen Thorp (FJMT Studio): the wooden skyscraper in the centre of Sydney

FJMT Studio: Francis-Jones Morehen Thorp

The team of the Francis-Jones Morehen Thorp (FJMN Studio) has come up with the design of a skyscraper that both reinterprets and honours the uniqueness of the city of Sydney in the whole of Australia, focusing as much on office and workplace design as on actual urbanism.
A new type of building: warm, welcoming and responsive to the needs of the people living in it, in order to create a healthy and sustainable working space.

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The purpose of the FJMT Study was to create a city tower that was born and grew from the same ground beneath it, a source of inspiration but also of raw materials: the materials used were in fact obtained from the excavated ground where the very foundations of the skyscraper sank.

Sydney's fascinating yellow stone - the so-called Yellowblock - was quarried and used to cover the core of the new tower, which thus rises from the earth as if it were a living organism. The building's foundations and floors, shops and public spaces are constructed from this material, which is worked and curved to create steps and staircases; a place has even been set up to display archaeological finds unearthed during the excavations, from the colonial and Victorian periods.

Forming a softer boundary to the street, there is a suspended canopy made of curved wooden slabs in the entrance area, protecting the walk and reflecting a warmer light into the inner room.

EY Centre: a wooden skyscraper in the heart of Sydney

L'EY Centre stands out in the city as a tower made of wood that rises in the midst of the grey of the neighbouring skyscrapers. This effect has been achieved by a façade composed of several layers of wood: the outermost layer is a single sheet of transparent glass, behind which is a layer of laminated natural wood, placed inside a vacuum-sealed cavity completely free of dust or dust; the innermost layer is a double-layer insulation unit with a high insulating power. The result is a façade that surpasses every other building in the vicinity in height, with a radically different appearance. A clear and transparent vision, which makes the natural colour of wood shine in the sun.

The Kinetic Architecture of the FJMT Studio

The exterior cladding of the building is a striking example of kinetic architecturea sort of second skin that automatically adapts according to the position of the sun and the time of day, to control the temperature and brightness levels of rooms.
It is a series of wooden screens that adapt progressively and act as a filter for the light and heat from outside, projecting a warm wood-coloured light reflection deep into the building.
From the outside, the appearance of the building changes as the sun moveswith the west façade being clear and open in the morning, more closed and the colour of wood in the afternoon.

The tower houses open, flexible offices and workplaces connected by elegant glazed floors; the rooms are lit by the abundant natural light and by a integrated LED system. For the construction, a double façade construction system (closed cavity façade) that increases comfort inside due to better ventilation and gives the feeling of a strong connection to the outside.

Find out more about signed projects Francis-Jones Morehen Thorp by visiting the official FJMT website.