{{Short description|Landmark building of the University of Technology, Sydney}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}} {{Infobox building | name = UTS Building 1 | native_name = | native_name_lang = | image = UTS Tower-Left side view.jpg | image_size = | image_alt = <!-- or | alt = --> | pushpin_map = | pushpin_map_alt = | map_caption = | pushpin_mapsize = | pushpin_label = | pushpin_relief = | former_names = | alternate_names = UTS Central, UTS Tower | etymology = | cancelled = | topped_out = | building_type = University administration | architectural_style = Late Twentieth Century Brutalist | classification = | location = | address = 15 Broadway, Sydney, New South Wales | location_city = <!-- or | location_town = --> | location_country = Australia | coordinates = {{nowrap|{{coord|-33.8837|151.2007|type:landmark_region:AU-NSW|display=title,inline|format=dms}}}} | groundbreaking_date = | construction_start_date = {{start date|1969|df=y}} | est_completion = | topped_out_date = | completion_date = | opened_date = {{End date|1979|10|15}} | inauguration_date = | relocated_date = | renovation_date = | closing_date = | demolished_date = | cost = {{AUD}}32 million | ren_cost = | client = New South Wales Institute of Technology | owner = University of Technology Sydney | height = {{convert|120|m}} | architectural = | tip = | antenna_spire = | roof = | top_floor = | observatory = | diameter = | circumference = | weight = | other_dimensions = | structural_system = | material = | size = | floor_count = | floor_area = | elevator_count = | grounds_area = | architect = Michael Dysart | architecture_firm = NSW Government Architect's Office | developer = | engineer = | structural_engineer = | services_engineer = | civil_engineer = | other_designers = | quantity_surveyor = | main_contractor = | awards = | designations = | known_for = | ren_architect = | ren_firm = Tonkin Zulaikha Greer (2014)<br/>Burtenshaw Scoufis (2011–) | ren_engineer = | ren_str_engineer = | ren_serv_engineer = | ren_civ_engineer = | ren_oth_designers = | ren_qty_surveyor = | ren_contractor = | ren_awards = }} '''UTS Building 1''', also known as the '''UTS Tower''', is a landmark building on Broadway at the southern gateway to Sydney's central business district. Many of the administrative units of the University of Technology, Sydney are located across the building's 27 occupied floors. Completed in 1979 in the brutalist architectural style from a 1968 plan by Michael Dysart of the NSW Government Architect's Office, the Tower was officially opened by NSW Premier Neville Wran.
==Location== [[File:UTS Victoria Park.jpg|left|thumb|The building as seen from the University of Sydney]] The UTS Tower is located at 15 Broadway, Sydney, south of the city's central business district, near to Central Railway station and opposite One Central Park.
It sits between the UTS Bon Marche Building and Terraces (home to radio station 2SER) and the newly constructed UTS Central (Building 2).
==History== The original 1964 plan envisaged three towers of varying heights plus a podium.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://maas.museum/inside-the-collection/2010/03/30/the-dreaming-towers-uts-towers/|title=The Dreaming Towers- UTS Towers|website=Inside the Collection|language=en-AU|access-date=2019-05-20}}</ref> By the mid-1970s, with cutbacks in commonwealth funding, the original plan was reduced to the main Tower and smaller 11-level Building 2 next door.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Stories from the tower : UTS 1988-2013|date=2013|publisher=Xoum |editor=Adelaide, Debra |editor2=Ashton, Paul |editor3=Salt, Annette |isbn=9781922057518|location=Sydney|oclc=852794242}}</ref>
Construction of the building commenced in 1969 and lower floors were occupied from 1975. The building was officially opened on 15 October 1979 by the NSW Premier Neville Wran where the Tower was declared the tallest educational facility in Australia at the time.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Stories from the tower : UTS 1988-2013|date=2013|publisher=Xoum |editor=Adelaide, Debra |editor2=Ashton, Paul |editor3=Salt, Annette |isbn=9781922057518|location=Sydney|oclc=852794242}}</ref> The adjoining Building 2 opened in 1980.
Originally occupied by the NSW Institute of Technology, the Tower became part of the newly created University of Technology Sydney in January 1988.
==Criticism of architectural style== The Tower has been described very colourfully and identified numerous times as Sydney's ugliest building, notably in ''The Sydney Morning Herald'', and by architect Frank Gehry.<ref name="SMH_31Oct2006_Cubby_SydneysUgliestBuildings">{{cite news|url=https://www.smh.com.au/news/national/ugly-talk-strikes-a-chord-in-citys-heart/2006/10/31/1162278141507.html|title=Ugly talk strikes a chord in city's heart|last=Cubby|first=Ben|work=The Sydney Morning Herald|access-date=4 February 2010 | date=1 November 2006}}</ref><ref name="SMH_31Mar2008_RosemaryJohnston">{{cite news|url=https://www.smh.com.au/news/national/deep-rich-replenishment-through-the-eye-of-a-needle/2008/03/30/1206850709653.html|title=Deep, rich replenishment through the eye of a needle |last=Johnston|first=Rosemary |date=31 March 2008|work=The Sydney Morning Herald|access-date=5 February 2010}}</ref><ref name="ABCNews_11Dec2009_Gehry_UTS">{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/12/11/2768531.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091213143117/http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/12/11/2768531.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=13 December 2009|title=Architect Gehry to transform Ultimo site|date=11 December 2009|work=ABC News |location=Australia |access-date=4 February 2010}}</ref> Journalist and author Mike Carlton described it as "a menacing concrete monolith in an architectural genre that the old East German Stasi brought to perfection".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/margaret-a-commonsense-class-act-20120323-1vop4.html|last=Carlton|first=Mike|author-link=Mike Carlton|title=Opinion|date=24 March 2012|work=The Sydney Morning Herald|access-date=24 March 2012}}</ref>
The Tower's visibility in the central business district skyline has also been described positively, as marking Sydney as a University town.<ref name="SMH_31Mar2008_RosemaryJohnston"/>
===Proposed redesign=== One scheme for renovation suggested by Chris Bosse from Laboratory for Visionary Architecture involved covering the building with a lightweight composite mesh textile, which would be able to store rainwater, generate electricity and cool down the building.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.infoniac.com/environment/sydneys-ugliest-building-to-become-an-eco-friendly-tower.html|title=Sydney's Ugliest Building to Become an Eco-friendly Tower|publisher=Infoniac.com|access-date=12 February 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/higher-education/uts-tower-brutalist-sydney-eyesore-set-for-200m-makeove/news-story/514a09f667c97822ccd75f9ba96619fb |title=UTS tower: brutalist Sydney eyesore set for $200m makeover |work=The Australian |author=Loussikian, Kylar |date=9 September 2015 |access-date=4 October 2016 }}</ref> However, such plans were not taken up by the university beyond a simple refurbishment, with one observer noting: "It may be that, for better or for worse, the Tower is finally valued as an essential part of the University’s identity."<ref name="Pickett">{{cite web |last1=Pickett |first1=Charles |title=The Dreaming Towers- UTS Towers |url=https://maas.museum/inside-the-collection/2010/03/30/the-dreaming-towers-uts-towers/ |website=Inside the Collection |publisher=Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences |access-date=2 August 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Schwartzkoff |first1=Louise |title=Glowing cocoon is a winning idea that will never emerge |url=https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/art-and-design/glowing-cocoon-is-a-winning-idea-that-will-never-emerge-20100329-r8ek.html |access-date=2 August 2018 |agency=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=30 March 2010}}</ref>
=== Redevelopment of Building 2 === As part of the UTS Campus Master Plan, Building 2 next to the Tower was demolished in 2016/2017 to make way for a vibrant new student hub and faculty space for the university.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.uts.edu.au/partners-and-community/initiatives/city-campus-master-plan/campus-development-news/2016-news-5|title=Building 2 to go out with a bang as heavy demolition begins {{!}} University of Technology Sydney|website=www.uts.edu.au|language=en|access-date=2019-05-20|archive-date=10 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190410235035/https://www.uts.edu.au/partners-and-community/initiatives/city-campus-master-plan/campus-development-news/2016-news-5|url-status=dead}}</ref> UTS Central (Building 2) opened in August 2019 and features direct pedestrian connections with the UTS Tower across four levels.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.uts.edu.au/partners-and-community/initiatives/city-campus-master-plan/projects-progress/uts-central|title=UTS Central {{!}} University of Technology Sydney|website=www.uts.edu.au|language=en|access-date=2019-05-20}}</ref>
==References== {{Commons category|UTS Tower}} {{reflist}}
{{Skyscrapers in Sydney}} {{Architecture of Sydney |state=autocollapse}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Uts Tower}} Category:University of Technology Sydney Category:Brutalist architecture in Australia Category:Government buildings completed in 1979 Category:Office buildings completed in 1979 Category:Skyscraper office buildings in Sydney Category:1979 establishments in Australia