Koichi Takada Architects References Great Barrier Reef for Outdoor Amenity Space of Infinity by Crown

At a Sydney high-rise, an outdoor amenity space alludes to a cherished national site. But it’s 1,500 miles away. “The developer requested a water color familiar to Australians, so it is the exact same shade as the Great Barrier Reef,” Koichi Takada explains of the appearance
of the swimming pool and hot tub serving the Infinity by Crown, a 20-story mixed-use tower by Koichi Takada Architects. Dubbed the “organic architect,” Takada aims to, he says, “naturalize” city buildings, an approach he developed after living in Tokyo, where he was born, New York, and London, where he studied under Rem Koolhaas at the Architectural Association.

For the Infinity project, he and his team positioned the pool and tub on a wedge-shape platform atop the building’s ground-floor retail component, between the 326 apartments and the 90-room hotel. They achieved the famous aquamarine of the world’s largest coral reef system by lining them in a careful mix of ceramic mosaics in three different light blues. They then installed decking of Victorian ash, a local hardwood, and travertine cement, lush landscaping, and custom rattan cabanas in the form of seashells. “It’s an urban oasis,” Takada confirms. One that, due to COVID-19, has just reopened.