In continuity with the Rozelle Interchange Ventilation Artwork project, Studio Chris Fox has developed a bespoke sculptural façade for a ventilation outlet as part of the West Connex project. This tower is situated just North West of Rozelle, at Iron Cove Link.

Like the Rozelle towers, the Iron Cove outlet surface was inspired by native living ecosystems. The tectonic, modulated façade evokes a rocky monolith, a relic of the Sydney landscape. The form of the façade echoes that of an escarpment, with the under croft giving way to an explosion of greenery as green wall modules populate the surface. The structure also draws inspiration from the geomorphology of New South Wales waterfalls, especially those in the Blue Mountains. Like the escarpments of the Sydney Basin, strata of rock and plant life blanket the surface behind the waterfall. The resultant bespoke façade takes cues from these ecosystems – native flora bursts from a break in the façade as an unexpected flourish of the natural world.

This project utilises a complex, modulated zinc and green wall system. The plant species pattern, green-wall module positions, zinc panelisation and structural framework combine as a parametric system, growing from the ground and twisting up and around the vertical form of the tower.

External structural engineering requirements such as air quality monitoring and vertical garden access have been resolved through collaborative problem solving to address engineering, urban design and aesthetic concerns. The modulating tower surface by Studio Chris Fox stands proud amongst the ebb and flow of the surrounding road network, a reminder of the forces of nature that still thrive within our cities.