Billbergia
2018 - 2020
2023 Urban Development Institute of Australia Awards – Rhodes Central, Winner Excellence in Mixed-Use Development
Sydney’s Union Square was created in 1998 and is home to the Pyrmont War Memorial which contains the names of around 750 local men who served in World War 1. When Billbergia Group was developing its adjacent $2 billion Rhodes Central precinct, they required a solution to the square being overshadowed by a 39-storey tower.
The team of architects, engineers, façade & sustainability and heliostat specialists devised a heliostat system atop the tower to solve this problem. While heliostat technology is not new, it is generally used to collect energy for solar electric power plants in locations such as deserts.
This heliostat has 49 large, motorised mirrors that move to track the sun. The sunlight is bounced from these mirrors up to a system of reflectors that can be angled to direct the light down into Union Square below. Special sheeting covers the reflective surfaces to filter out harmful UV light.
The Egis Sustainability team designed the mirror system for the 20m-high rooftop heliostat, authoring a custom mirror control script to accurately model the heliostat system performance and provide assurance around it’s daylighting outcomes for public spaces.
The team provided complete façade consulting services for the heliostat cladding, and the tower glazing systems as well as CFD modelling for thermal comfort and wind-driven rain. In addition, the team in the Egis Shenyang office completed quality control checking in China.
The redistribution of solar light back to Union Square Plaza which would have been overshadowed by the building mass presents a blueprint for future high-density development.
The Wangal Clan of Eora Nation are the Traditional Custodians of the Country where this project stands.
