Realm
South Australia
Sectors
Commercial, Hospitality & Retail
Location
81 Mulgoa Road, Penrith NSW
Date Completed
2023
Architect
Turner Studio
Builder
Richard Crookes Constructions
The Western Sydney Conference Centre and Pullman Hotel is a mixed commercial and hospitality development on Mulgoa Road in Penrith, delivered with architect Turner Studio and builder Richard Crookes Constructions. Completed in 2023, the project moved from a curtain wall to a window-wall system during design development, allowing the full façade to be installed behind scaffold and saving significant time on programme. The building’s envelope is entirely facetted, with no two panels sharing the same angle, and features a recessed slab edge along with a freestanding podium façade standing over nine metres tall without steel support.
Challenges
Changing from curtain wall to window-wall partway through design development meant re-planning the installation method to work fully behind scaffold, which ultimately saved significant time on programme. Bronze glass selections added complexity to procurement, and maintaining a consistent colourway across the spandrel zones was essential to a uniform external appearance. With every panel on the facetted façade carrying a different angle, and a freestanding podium standing over nine metres tall without steel support, the podium system was fully fabricated off site to keep the build moving quickly.
Strategy
Our strategy was to commit early to the window-wall switch once its programme and cost benefits were clear, restructuring the installation sequence around full delivery behind scaffold. We managed bronze glass procurement and spandrel colourway consistency as a single coordinated exercise, so the façade would read uniformly despite the change in make-up. For the freestanding podium, standing over nine metres without steel, we fabricated the deep-set system fully off site, reducing the amount of complex work required at height on the finished building.
The result was a façade delivered faster than originally programmed, with a facetted, uniquely angled envelope and a freestanding podium built for speed without compromising strength.
