Sydney marks award‑winning residential design and world’s tallest timber skyscraper

Retired broadcaster Ray Hadley has moved into a newly completed residential building in Sydney’s Norwest Quarter known as Lacebark. The curved, multi‑residential complex, designed by William Smart of Smart Design Studio, won the NSW Aaron Bolot Award and the Urban Taskforce Development Excellence Award, and is shortlisted for national architecture prizes. Hadley described the building as “like the Opera House” of the area.

At the same time, Atlassian’s $1.45 billion “plyscraper” – a 39‑storey hybrid timber‑steel‑concrete tower – topped out at 272 metres, becoming the world’s tallest mixed‑material timber building. Co‑founder Mike Cannon‑Brookes, alongside NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey, attended the ceremony and noted that Sydney has always been the company’s home. Atlassian will anchor the new Tech Central precinct while sub‑leasing part of the space to other tech firms.