Renowned architect Alec Tzannes has expressed great enthusiasm as his firm embarks on its latest project at York Street, considering the tower a landmark moment for the company as it looks toward the future.
The Greek Australian’s architecture and urban design practice ‘Tzannes’ has played an instrumental role in designing what will be Australia’s tallest fully massed timber commercial building.
The 13-storey timber tower designed for New York-based investor Tony Cheng’s NGI Investments will stand tall in Sydney’s CBD, having been designed with long-term sustainability in mind, featuring timber and steel elements crafted for future disassembly and reuse.
The Tzannes co-director remarked that is a significant moment for his firm but has not come about easily.

“The re-development of 4-6 York Street has been difficult to undertake,” Tzannes told Neos Kosmos.
“The difficulty is a result of the below ground rail tunnel infrastructure that occupies approximately half of the property that does not permit any load bearing structure above and the requirement to include a major new substation below ground for the remaining portion of the property.”
Tzannes stated that the project has taken roughly two years to be approved due to the below ground technical difficulties and heritage assessment process involving state government agencies as well as the City of Sydney.
He added that by the time the application was finally determined in favour of re-development, they “felt relief more than excitement”.
The architect noted that they have overcome the technical challenges through an innovative tree like cantilevered steel structure designed by Arup (Structural Engineers) over three levels supporting 11 levels of a relatively light mass timber structure above.
He also explained that the external architecture is inspired by the geometry and materials of the historic former Bank of New South Wales building.

The tower is co-designed with co-director Amy Dowse, and Tzannes believes it represents an important moment in the firm’s history.
“This project reflects the future of our firm…I hope my legacy is the practice itself and its evolution,” he said.
“Amy and I can see how our shared values and design thinking will continue our record of innovation, creating excellent design responses to complex briefs across a wide range of design disciplines, building types and products.”
The architect said while the project certainly sits as one of the most important commissions of his career, he is more excited about fostering the next generation through his firm.
“My goal is to see more of the immense talent in the practice come to the fore in the years ahead, reflecting the values and progressing the unique design attributes of our history.”