Case Study: 23 Gray Street, Adelaide

In the heart of Adelaide's growing biomedical precinct, 23 Gray Street sits on a tight, tricky infill site, the kind of block that leaves almost no room for error. Rising nine storeys as a new mixed-use building, it needed a façade with enough presence to stand apart from its neighbours, without losing its place among the heritage buildings around it. 

Giordano Architecture took on the design, PBH Contracting brought it to life on site, and HVG Facades supplied the cladding that would tie it all together. Nucleo bonded aluminium cladding wraps the tower in a sleek ‘Night Black’, with Zintl aluminium battens and interlocking cladding grounding the base in ‘Monument Satin’, resulting in a two-tone façade with real depth.

The site set the terms of the challenge from day one. As Anthony Giordano, of Giordano Architecture, explains, "it was important that the façade had depth, texture and visual interest without becoming overly complicated" — a difficult balance to strike on a block with so little room to move.

Consistency was the other hurdle. Multiple elevations and a mix of façade conditions meant there was no single, simple fix. The design needed one architectural language that could hold together across the whole building, rather than reading as a series of separate solutions.

Solution

The answer came from putting two systems to work together. Nucleo and Zintl, used side by side, gave Giordano Architecture the flexibility to solve both problems at once. 

"The combination of Nucleo bonded aluminium panels and Zintl battens gave us the flexibility to create a contemporary, highly articulated façade using complementary cladding systems. The clean panel finish and strong vertical expression of the battens helped give the building a distinctive identity while responding sensitively to its constrained city location and surrounding heritage context."
— Anthony Giordano, Giordano Architecture

The two systems let the design emphasise the building's vertical proportions, carrying a consistent architectural language across every elevation. On site, PBH Contracting worked through the junctions and detailing across the tower's varied façade conditions to bring that design intent to life.

The relationship behind the build mattered just as much as the materials. "Our experience with HVG Facades was very positive," Giordano says. "Their team provided responsive technical support throughout the design, documentation and construction phases and worked collaboratively with the project team to resolve detailing and product-related queries."

The result speaks for itself. Feedback on the completed façade has been overwhelmingly positive, with the client pleased by the strong identity it gives the building, and visitors regularly commenting on its contemporary appearance, texture and detailing. What began as a tight, unassuming site is now one of the most recognisable additions to Adelaide's growing biomedical precinct.