Darling Square
The removal of the Sydney Entertainment Centre and carpark created a rare opportunity to create a substantial and meaningful new public space in the heart of Sydney. ASPECT Studios’ competition-winning public domain design carved out a unique identity for the space by transforming a previously isolated area into a place of integrated and vibrant public life.
- TRADITIONAL OWNERS & ONGOING CUSTODIANS OF THE LAND The Gadigal of the Eora Nation
- CLIENT Lendlease
- LOCATION Haymarket, Sydney, Australia
- Year 2014 - 2019
The design process involved lifting the square to create a seamless transition between the surrounding buildings. The introduction of a canopy to the western edge of the square created a sense of shelter and an invitation to linger, while doubling as an extension of the social ground planes of the new public buildings.
ASPECT's public doman design also called for a circular community building atop the space, later realised to striking effect in the form of a new public library designed Kengo Kuma and Associates.
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With a renewed sense of place and position, the square reforges connections between the precinct and the rest of the city. A pedestrian-focused network of city streets, laneways and the 20-metre-wide pedestrian boulevard bisecting the ground plane all work to create a fine-grained street experience in a dense urban environment.
By creating a bolt of continuous, people-focused urban fabric from Central Station to Chinatown and Darling Harbour, the project stitches the previously severed southern CBD back together and supports renewed social and spatial connections.
By creating a bolt of continuous, people-focused urban fabric from Central Station to Chinatown and Darling Harbour, the project stitches the previously severed southern CBD back together and supports renewed social and spatial connections.
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Darling Square embodies a new urban typology, fusing landscape, architecture, art, food and culture. A captivating new world-class urban neighbourhood has rejuvenated the heart of Sydney.”
- TEAM ASPECT Studios, Kengo Kuma and Associates, Arcadis, Denton Corker Marshall (master plan), Hassell (master plan), Peta Kruger, Brendan Van Hek, Eliat Rich and the Centre for Appropriate Technology
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AWARDS
2021 IFLA Asia-Pac LA Awards; Cultural & Urban Landscape - Awards of Excellence
2021 Greater Sydney Planning Awards; Great New Place to Live and/or Work
2021 CTBUH Awards Urban Habitat – District/Master Plan: Award of Excellence
2020 AILA NSW Landscape Awards: Award of Excellence for Urban Design
2020 Australian Urban Design Awards for Built Projects; Local and Neighbourhood Scale - PHOTOGRAPHY Brett Boardman
