The iconic tower of the University of Technology, Sydney, has been variously denounced as Sydney's ugliest building and the "ungainly middle finger on Broadway" that delivers an "up yours" to all things beautiful.

Now, the brutally modernist tower looks set to receive a spruce up, of sorts.

The tower will still dominate the Sydney skyline but, if UTS has its way, it will be connected to a new, 16-level glass-fronted campus building on the corner of Broadway and Jones Street that the university claims will "renew the very heart of the UTS campus".

The NSW Department of Planning has placed the proposed redevelopment plans, which include images of a "twisting" tri-level reading room, on public display, and has called for community feedback before June 10.

The university says the $278 million project, known as UTS Central, would replace the building that now adjoins the UTS tower - known as building two - with a "vibrant and dynamic student hub".

A second phase of the project would add four more storeys to the podium of the UTS tower to join the tower and the new building together.

If planning approval is given, the university plans to close building two in July, before it is demolished. The new building would be scheduled to open on the same site in 2019.

The new building would accommodate a library, research areas, teaching spaces, a student centre, the student union, food and beverage outlets and faculty spaces, and an outdoor terrace and rooftop garden.

UTS has been planning its expansion since 2000, and has since completed several major redevelopments, including the $180 million Frank Gehry-designed business school.

At the time the business school building opened, deputy vice-chancellor Patrick Woods told Fairfax Media that the tower would continue to be treasured "for the time being".

"There are those who think it is absolutely wonderful," he said.

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