This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
A CONCRETE slab in Sydney’s Barangaroo precinct will become a harbourside park with an events lawn, public art, pathways, plantings and waterways after the NSW government selected a First Nations-led design for the 1.85-hectare space.
First Nations-led and Sydney-based design team AKIN’s vision for the park topped the entries of an open design competition, with jury chaired by former Prime Minister Paul Keating and comprising leading figures from the local and international design community selecting the winner out of five finalists.
“Announcing the winner of the design competition for Harbour Park is a massive milestone for the project, and we are excited to share the first designs of the park, from this local and First Nations-led design team,” said NSW Acting Premier Prue Car.
“Harbour Park is on the traditional lands of the Gadigal, who have been the custodians of the land and waterways for millennia. The park continues the precinct’s commitment to honouring the role of First Nations people, the history of the site and its wider context.
The design features nature play for all ages and abilities with extensive planting, canopy cover, waterways and ponds, shallow water pools, interactive water features, meandering pathways, toilets and a kiosk, an events lawn at the northern end of the site for community and cultural events and ceremonies, for hosting community and cultural events with up to 6,000 people.
The AKIN team is comprised of Yerrabingin, Architectus, Jacob Nash Studio, Studio Chris Fox and Flying Fish Blue, with Arup as engineering consultants. The team will now consult with the community to refine and finalise the design and begin planning and procurement processes.
“We are particularly excited by the focus on the design’s connection to the water, as it not only capitalises on the already stunning harbour views, it also includes interactive water features for play and cooling on a hot summer’s day,” said NSW Minister for Lands and Property Steve Kamper said.
“The community had a major influence on many of the park’s features and activities, and we will continue to bring the community on the journey as the design features are finalised and brought to fruition.”
Yerrabingin co-founder Christian Hampson, on behalf of AKIN’s designers and artists, said,
“We are incredibly honoured and humbled to be part of such a defining public project, weaving together the threads of landscape, art, and architecture.
“For us, this is much more than a park – it’s a place for us to celebrate an enduring culture and to move with Country, acknowledging and experiencing our collective past and present while dreaming of our future. This design is a new chapter connected to the most ancient of stories, carved in the Sydney sandstone: the story of Country and of us, its people.”
