Tensile recently partnered with Junglefy to construct a feature facade for the carpark at the Sydney Superyacht Marina in New South Wales. The marina was built to accommodate visiting yachts for the 2000 Olympics and is the largest facility of its kind in the southern hemisphere. Close to the Central Business District (CBD) at Rozelle Bay, the marina offers berths for yachts up to 75 metres.
The marina’s carpark is located right on the waterfront in full view of the Glebe Island Bridge. The project brief was to transform and beautify the carpark with a green facade, and the aim was to soften the impact of the building against the landscape.
The facade uses the planter box approach and 92 planter boxes containing plants pre-grown by Junglefy have been cantilevered off concrete slabs on two sides of the carpark. The climbing plants are supported by 1,600 m2 of the webnet mesh which also acts as a balustrade to provide fall protection. The installation time for the mesh was just over a week.
Tensile also designed the concept of how the planters would hang from the building structure without harming the mesh or interrupting the installation. The 100 mm aperture mesh selected for the project meets safety standards while providing a large enough opening for the climbing plants to spread.
The combination of Tensile’s mesh and Junglefy’s plants creates a lush green feature that stands out against its surrounding industrial environment. The plants also provide a measure of cooling, shade and filtration of pollutants.
