Kengo Kuma has revealed plans for his first building in Australia, a cylindrical civic centre by Sydney's Darling Harbour that will feature the Japanese architect's characteristic timber cladding.

Ribbons of light-coloured wood will wrap the curving building known as The Darling Exchange in an "organic and spontaneous manner" said Kuma.

Its six curving floor plates are shifted off-centre and walkways are angled to create a spiralling form ? not dissimilar to the design developed by Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron for a new college at the University of Oxford.

The building will contain a library, childcare centre and market hall as well as a rooftop bar and restaurant with views over Tumbalong Park, the Chinese Gardens and Cockle Bay. It will also host a "makerspace" and Innovation Exchange to support creative and technology start-ups.
"Our aim is to achieve architecture that is as open and tangible as possible to the community, and this is reflected in the circular geometry that creates a building that is accessible and recognisable from multiple directions," said Kengo Kuma.

"The wooden screen wraps the exterior of the building in a dynamic and exciting manner, a historical reference to Darling Harbour originally being a hive of business activity and a focal point as a market exchange.?

Gaps between the strips of timber will allow snippets of activity within the building and its external ramping walkways to be seen from a new pu...