Skye

Skye is a 21-storey mixed use residential building located at 211 Pacific Highway in North Sydney. It is 68 meters tall and has 242 apartments, with a total floor area of 21,550-square meters.

Inspired by the Aurora Borealis lights that dance across the Northern skies at night, Skye by Crown appears to float above the ground below. Elevating its residents to a serene and sophisticated position above North Sydney, the building appears as a seductive sculpture that embodies the Australian essence of light, water and purity.

Koichi Takada used a façade “veil” to define the top of the building, “creating a gradual and organic height transition” in order to soften the impression of size projected by the structure. Dividing the building into three elements, the façade optimises solar access, and facilitates natural ventilation and privacy. Its bronze-coloured vertical tubes “bring to mind great lengths of dried bamboo and draw the eye skyward, channelling light back down to earth,” while raising the podium level allows for a through-site link inviting the public in to experience the restaurants and retail spaces below.

Australia’s Great Barrier Reef was the inspiration for the rooftop, where pool tiles were chosen to echo the bright blue glow produced by deep water corals when they fluoresce. Takada convinced the client the pool and deck were a better investment than penthouses, allowing people on the sky deck to connect with the surrounding city and harbour views.

“The quality of outdoor living in Sydney is about enjoying a city lifestyle surrounded by beautiful harbours and parks,” says Takada. “In this city there is a perfect balance between the urban and natural landscape and Skye encapsulates that balance.