The New South Wales government has unveiled the winning design for a 1.85 hectare park on the foreshore at Central Barangaroo.
First Nations-led consortium Akin, which comprises Yerrabingin, Architectus, Jacob Nash Studio, Studio Chris Fox and Flying Fish Blue, with Arup as engineering consultants, has been named winner of an open design competition launched in December 2022.
The winning design features nature play for all ages and abilities, a 6,000-capacity event lawn for hosting community and cultural events and winding pathways to explore.
The design honours the long and deep history of the Gadigal people and showcases First Nations design methodologies. The Country-led design supports regenerative ecology, natural systems, drawing insects, birds and other fauna.
The landscape will be planted extensively with a variety of endemic grasses. Native trees such as Sydney red gum, casuarina and cabbage tree palm will provide canopy cover, and a series of interactive waterways and ponds will collect and filter water through the landscape before it returns to the harbour.
The winning design for Barangaroo Harbour Park by Akin (Yerrabingin, Architectus, Jacob Nash Studio, Studio Chris Fox and Flying Fish Blue, with Arup).
Image: Akin
The design also includes a series of significant public art installations that will become places for exploration, play, education, shade and celebration. The artworks reference natural elements of water, wind and moon (or “vessels”) that have special significance in Indigenous knowledge systems.
The water vessel, which will become the connection point to the harbour and a place for gathering and ceremony, will be made from timber, referencing pre-settlement campfires that burned along the harbour. The artwork will frame Me-Mel Island/Goat Island, which is the largest island in the harbour and was recently transferred back to the local Gadigal people. It will be a significant cultural landmark for Traditional Custodians.
The wind vessel will be located at the windiest corner of the site to capture the westerly winds each morning, giving “voice” to them.
The moon vessel will feature an oculus and a lined underside that reflects the tidal waves of the harbour. It will be located at the west-facing end of the site – a landscape that “never sees the dawn.”
Annotated plan of Barangaroo Harbour Park by Akin (Yerrabingin, Architectus, Jacob Nash Studio, Studio Chris Fox and Flying Fish Blue, with Arup).
Image: Akin
The design team will consult with community to further refine the design.
“We are incredibly honoured and humbled to be part of such a defining public project, weaving together the threads of landscape, art, and architecture,” said Yerrabingin founder and CEO Christian Hampson.
“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.”
“Our design is a new chapter connected to the most ancient of stories, carved in the sandstone of Sydney: the story of Country and of us, its people. We hope this new chapter inspires all our young people, fanning the embers inside them into a fire as the future artists, architects, designers, and engineers of our cities and our nation.”
Jessica Hodge, landscape architect and urban designer at Yerrabingin, added, “This project represents a symbolic shift in the landscape architecture and design culture of Sydney. It’s significant, city-shaping work led by an entirely local team, with a scheme built upon First Nations knowledge and a deep respect for Country. Setting a new benchmark for design and process, the landscape architecture unifies all elements, including art and architecture, with a shared objective of elevating Country and ultimately creating a place for all kin.”
The Harbour Park at Barangaroo will be part of a 14-kilometre continuous harbourside walk from Glebe to Woolloomooloo.
“Barangaroo Harbour Park will generate for Sydney a public place like no other: a city-scaled platform positioned on the Harbour’s edge, where a Country-led, layered landscape will positively contribute to a deeper understanding of First Nations people, culture, and knowledge,” said Architectus principal Luke Johnson.
