Crown Sydney (also referred to by its street address of One Barangaroo and informally known as Packer’s Pecker) is a

skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Most modern sources define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition, other than being very tall high-rise bui ...

Barangaroo Barangaroo ( – ) was an Aboriginal Australian woman best known for her interactions with the British colony of New South Wales during the first years of the European colonisation of Australia. A member of the Cammeraygal clan, she was the wi ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, Australia. Designed by

WilkinsonEyre WilkinsonEyre is an international architecture practice based in London, England. In 1983 Chris Wilkinson (architect), Chris Wilkinson founded Chris Wilkinson Architects, he partnered with Jim Eyre (architect), Jim Eyre in 1987 and the practice ...

, it stands at a height of with 75 floors, making it the tallest building in Sydney and 4th tallest in Australia. It was developed by

Crown Resorts Crown Resorts Limited is an Australian gaming and entertainment group that owns and operates three integrated resorts, including Crown Melbourne, Crown Perth and Crown Sydney. It was listed on the Australian Securities Exchange until purcha ...

, primarily comprising a

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...

and residential apartments, while a casino and other hospitality venues make up the rest of its floorspace. Construction began in October 2016, and the building was

topped out In building construction, topping out (sometimes referred to as topping off) is a builders' rite traditionally held when the last beam (or its equivalent) is placed at the top of a structure during its construction. Nowadays, the ceremony is ofte ...

in March 2020. It was inaugurated to the public in December 2020. Crown Sydney is a major component of the

urban redevelopment Urban renewal (sometimes called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address real or perceived urban decay. Urban renewal involves the clearing ...

of the

area of central Sydney, forming part of a cluster of skyscrapers comprising the adjacent One Sydney Harbour and International Towers. The tower sits on the site of former industrial

wharves A wharf ( or wharfs), quay ( , also ), staith, or staithe is a structure on the shore of a harbour or on the bank of a river or canal where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. Such a structure includes one or more berths ( ...

, which were progressively paved over through

land reclamation Land reclamation, often known as reclamation, and also known as land fill (not to be confused with a waste landfill), is the process of creating new Terrestrial ecoregion, land from oceans, list of seas, seas, Stream bed, riverbeds or lake ...

in the 1960s and 70s after falling into disuse, forming the unoccupied concrete site on which the tower was constructed.

Background

Early proposals

Initial concepts for a hotel development in Barangaroo as part of its urban redevelopment plan first circulated in 2010. These concepts mostly centred around a tall hotel tower built on a pier extended into the harbour. Following public backlash, the height of the tower was lowered to and the length of the pier was reduced to . These proposals failed to gain traction.In February 2012,

James Packer James Douglas Packer (born 8 September 1967) is an Australian billionaire businessman and investor. Packer is the son of Kerry Packer, a media mogul, and his wife, Roslyn Packer. He is the grandson of Frank Packer. He inherited control of th ...

's casino group,

, presented an A$1 billion+ proposal to

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

Barry O'Farrell Barry Robert O'Farrell (born 24 May 1959) is an Australian former politician who was Australia's List of Australian High Commissioners to India, High Commissioner to India and non-resident Ambassador to Bhutan from February 2020 to 30 June 202 ...

to build a hotel, casino and entertainment complex at the site on land that was set aside for open space at Barangaroo Central, a departure from previous concepts of building a tower on an extended pier in the harbour. O'Farrell initially welcomed the proposal, yet cautioned it would need to gain regulatory approval before going ahead. The proposal drew widespread criticism from the Lord Mayor

Clover Moore Clover Margaret Moore (née Collins, born 22 October 1945) is an Australian politician. She has been the Lord Mayor of the City of Sydney since 2004 and is currently the longest serving Lord Mayor of Sydney since the creation of the City of Sy ...

Paul Keating Paul John Keating (born 18 January 1944) is an Australian former politician and trade unionist who served as the 24th prime minister of Australia from 1991 to 1996. He held office as the leader of the Labor Party (ALP), having previously ser ...

, and former government architect, Chris Johnson. In October 2012, Premier O'Farrell announced that the NSW Cabinet had reviewed the proposal and decided that the government would enter into detailed negotiations with Crown Resorts for the establishment of a casino and hotel complex at Barangaroo. Tony Harris, a former

Auditor-General of New South Wales An auditor general, also known in some countries as a comptroller general or comptroller and auditor general, is a senior civil servant charged with improving government accountability by auditing and reporting on the government's operations. Fr ...

was critical of the decision−making process, claiming the public could miss out on millions of dollars. Packer wrote a defence of his proposal for the press. In July 2013 after a recommendation from an independent steering committee, O'Farrell announced the Crown proposal would be moved to Stage 3 of the unsolicited proposals process, the final stage where the parties will negotiate a binding contract. The government received a $100 million upfront fee for the licence, despite being offered $250 million with alternative tax arrangements which the steering committee's economic advisor

Deloitte Deloitte is a multinational professional services network based in London, United Kingdom. It is the largest professional services network in the world by revenue and number of employees, and is one of the Big Four accounting firms, along wi ...

calculated was a superior offer. Crown's intention was to lure Chinese high-rollers to its Sydney casino, leveraging off its interests in its

Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...

casinos and taking advantage of a new streamlined visa process introduced by the Australian government for Chinese citizens wanting to gamble at Australian casinos. In November 2013, it was announced that Crown Sydney had received approval for the casino licence and place at Barangaroo.

Approval

In November 2015, Packer expressed his frustrations over the delaying of the project from strenuous government planning laws. Following this in March 2016, a series of proposals to change aspects of the building were recommended by the State Government in order for the project to receive final approval. This included the introduction of a new recess in the interior as well as new cladding on the south side of the building. An observation deck on the 66th floor from a height of above ground, as well as public access to the upper floors, was also proposed. In June 2016, the casino received final approval from the Planning Assessment Commission on condition that the casino met needs proposed by the commission, including adequate public spaces and access.

Controversies

Despite the development's approval, the Millers Point Fund lodged legal action against the project in early August 2016 challenging the validity of the casino and aiming to have construction on the project halted. Crown Resorts responded, stating they would "vigorously defend" their actions. The dispute was held in the

Land and Environment Court of New South Wales The Land and Environment Court of New South Wales is a court within the Australian court hierarchy established pursuant to the to hearing (law), hear environmental, development, building and planning disputes. The Court's jurisdiction, confined ...

in late August, with a decisive dismissal of the Millers Point Fund's claims. On 21 January 2020, the Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority (ILGA) established an inquiry, presided over by Supreme Court of NSW judge Patricia Bergin, into the suitability of Crown entities to operate the Crown Sydney Casino. After Crown Resorts made admissions to the inquiry on 17 November 2020 of money laundering having occurred through some of its VIP accounts at Crown venues in other states, ILGA banned Crown Resorts from opening the Crown Sydney casino in December 2020 as had been planned. Despite the inability of the casino to open, other operations within the Crown Sydney building were unaffected. On 1 February 2021, Bergin reported the findings of the inquiry to ILGA, including findings that Crown was unsuitable to hold a licence to operate the Crown Sydney Casino. In February 2022, Crown Resorts accepted a A$8.9 billion takeover offer from US private equity firm Blackstone. The deal was approved by the

Federal Court of Australia The Federal Court of Australia is an Australian superior court which has jurisdiction to deal with most civil disputes governed by federal law (with the exception of family law matters), along with some summary (less serious) and indictable (mo ...

in June 2022 and Crown was delisted from the Australian Securities Exchange. Following a complete overhaul of Crown Resort's board, management and procedures, a conditional licence was finally granted for the casino in June 2022, allowing for its opening in August 2022. On 23 April 2024, the NSW Independent Casino Commission reinstated Crown Sydney's unconditional casino licence.

Construction

Lendlease Lendlease is an Australian multinational construction and real estate company, headquartered in Barangaroo, Sydney, New South Wales. History Founding The company was established as Lendlease by Dick Dusseldorp in 1958 to provide finance fo ...

was contracted for the main construction of the structure, while the Robert Bird Group oversaw structural engineering and LCI as head of MEP servicing. Initial site works commenced in October 2016, starting with an excavation and

decontamination Decontamination (sometimes abbreviated as decon, dcon, or decontam) is the process of removing contaminants on an object or area, including chemicals, micro-organisms, and/or radioactive substances. This may be achieved by chemical reaction, dis ...

of the site, mostly of remnants of

asbestos Asbestos ( ) is a group of naturally occurring, Toxicity, toxic, carcinogenic and fibrous silicate minerals. There are six types, all of which are composed of long and thin fibrous Crystal habit, crystals, each fibre (particulate with length su ...

; indicative of the site's industrial history. Excavation of the basement and foundation works would continue throughout 2017. Between February and March 2018, tower cranes were assembled on site, to commence works on the main

core Core or cores may refer to: Science and technology * Core (anatomy), everything except the appendages * Core (laboratory), a highly specialized shared research resource * Core (manufacturing), used in casting and molding * Core (optical fiber ...

and floorplates, which would see the structure start to rise throughout 2018. A top-down method of construction was utilised on the core. By March 2019, the structure had reached a height of . The structure continued to rise throughout 2019, reaching a "halfway point" in its construction by May 2019, which would be followed closely by the installation of approximately 7000 triangular glass panels for the facade of the building. The main core of the structure topped-out in March 2020, followed by the floorplates which topped out and reached the building's full architectural height in May 2020. Fit-out of the internals of the building and facade continued throughout 2020, before completion was reached in December 2020. Crown Sydney was officially inaugurated to the public on 28 December 2020. File:Barangaroo towers (cropped).jpg, July 2017 File:Crown construction june 2018.jpg, June 2018 File:Construction at Barangaroo (cropped).jpg, August 2018 File:Barangaroo - construction of the new Crown Casino and the new Metro station (cropped).jpg, March 2019 File:Crown Sydney2 (cropped).jpg, July 2019 File:Sydney (AU), Barangaroo -- 2019 -- 2093.jpg, October 2019 File:Crown Sydney UC in December 2019 (cropped).jpg, December 2019 File:Crown Sydney topped out 2.jpg, February 2020 File:Barangaroo Sydney 2019 03 (cropped).jpg, April 2020 File:Crown Sydney - November 2020.jpg, November 2020 File:Crown Sydney Barangaroo (cropped).jpg, January 2021 (completion)

Design and layout

In 2013, Crown Resorts launched a design competition, seeking expressions of interest from eight architecture firms with experience in similar hospitality focused projects. A shortlist of designs from Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill,

Kohn Pedersen Fox Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates (KPF) is an American architectural firm based in New York City that provides architecture, interior, programming and master planning services. They engineer different projects including civic and cultural spaces, com ...

and

were subsequently selected and a jury panel was formed to select the hotel's final design and Principal Architect. The jury panel consisted of representatives from Crown Resorts, Lendlease and the Barangaroo Delivery Authority as well as a prominent architect representing the NSW Department of Planning and an observer from the City of Sydney. A unanimous vote in favour of Wilkinson Eyre's design was finalised in May 2013. The design and form of the tower takes inspiration from natural forms and curved geometry, emanating from three "petals" that twist and rise together, The geometry of the tower was derived using parametric 3D modelling, to accommodate a 60-degree twist in the outer skin with helical columns on the perimeter while maintaining a vertical core structure. According to Wilkinson Eyre, the tower ''"is derived from a sculptural form that is reminiscent of three twisting petals and takes inspiration from nature, being composed of organic forms without literal or direct reference".'' Additionally, the twisting shape of the upper and intermediate levels of the tower are designed to maximise views of the Harbour Bridge and the

Opera House An opera house is a theater building used for performances of opera. Like many theaters, it usually includes a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, backstage facilities for costumes and building sets, as well as offices for the institut ...

. Founding architect Chris Wilkinson further describes the design of the tower as ''"a sculptural form that will rise up on the skyline like an inhabited artwork, with differing levels of transparency, striking a clear new image against the sky”.'' Crown Sydney comprises a floor area of . The casino floor along with bars, restaurants and other hospitality venues occupy the podium of the tower. Crown Resort's six star hotel makes up the lower levels of the tower from levels 6 to 32, including the protruding lower south east wing of the building. Private residential apartments occupy levels 33 to 63 of the tower, while duplex penthouses occupy levels 64 to 66. A public observation deck occupies a small section of level 66. The tower is topped with the hotel's "sky

villa A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house that provided an escape from urban life. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the f ...

s", occupying levels 67 to 69, with

utilities A public utility company (usually just utility) is an organization that maintains the infrastructure for a public service (often also providing a service using that infrastructure). Public utilities are subject to forms of public control and r ...

making up the remaining levels of 70 and 71.

Gallery

File:Crown Sydney from Millers Point, NSW, May 2021, 02.jpg, Northern view File:AUS Sydney, Central Business District, Darling Harbour 062.jpg, View of the southern face File:Crown Sydney Barangaroo1.jpg, Podium viewed from the west File:Crown Hotel Barangaroo Sydney 01.jpg, Main hotel lobby File:Crown Hotel Barangaroo Sydney 05.jpg, Lift lobby File:Crown Hotel Barangaroo Sydney 07.jpg, Outdoor dining

Popular opinion

Popular opinion is divided on the design of the tower. Australian and international media have reported that the building has been nicknamed "Packer's Pecker", in reference to its primary proponent, James Packer, and its outsized massing and phallic shape. Former Australian prime minister

admired the tower for its ''"Brancusi-like sculptural quality"'' and clean sculptural shape. Some architectural commentators have commented unfavourably on the quality of the design, especially compared to other works by its designers. On the other hand, Crown Resorts has described the tower as "epic" and having "opulence, style and substance".

Emporis Emporis was a real estate data mining company with headquarters in Hamburg, Germany. The company collected data and photographs of buildings worldwide, which were published in an online database from 2000 to September 2022. Emporis was acquired ...

named Crown Sydney as the winner of their prestigious Skyscraper Award in 2021; the first building in Australia to win the award in the competition's 20-year history. Coming ahead of the Telus Sky tower and

One Vanderbilt One Vanderbilt is a 73-story supertall skyscraper at the corner of 42nd Street (Manhattan), 42nd Street and Vanderbilt Avenue in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox for developer SL Green Realty, ...

in 2nd and 3rd places respectively, a jury of international architects attributed Crown Sydney's ''"extravagant design of (its) exterior facade"'' as the deciding factor for its first-place finish.

Sociological criticism

Researchers from the Responsible Gambling Fund financed,

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

Gambling Treatment Clinic, have suggested that strategies such as a minimum bet size are not likely to prevent the local community from being affected by problem gambling. They have suggested that students, new immigrants and working class individuals are typically and more likely found to be losing large amounts of money at Casino style table and electronic games. Academic researchers have suggested that while the casino is initially not licensed to offer poker machines, it will inevitably gain a licence in future years.

References

External links

Official site

Building at The Skyscraper Center database
{{Sydney skyscrapers Casinos in Sydney Hotels in Sydney Skyscrapers in Sydney Neo-futurist architecture in Australia Casino hotels in New South Wales 2020 establishments in Australia