Sydney Fish Market
The new Sydney Fish Market redefines both the edge of Sydney Harbour and the civic life of the city. Positioned between Glebe and Pyrmont, the project reshapes the waterfront as a porous, accessible and deeply public landscape.
- TRADITIONAL OWNERS & ONGOING CUSTODIANS OF THE LAND Gadigal of the Eora Nation
- CLIENT Infrastructure NSW
- LOCATION Glebe, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- Year 2017 - 2025
A sweeping waterfront promenade forms the project’s organising gesture.
Extending the Glebe foreshore walk and linking through to Pyrmont, it delivers more than 6,000 square metres of new public open space and completes a critical segment of Sydney’s continuous 15-kilometre harbour walk from Woolloomooloo to Rozelle Bay. The building does not sit apart from this public domain; it is embedded within it.
At the waterline, fishing vessels berth and unload directly into the market precinct. Rather than concealing this industrial choreography, the design foregrounds it. Visitors can observe crews unloading their catch, experiencing the rhythms of trade and tide at close range. Amphitheatre-style steps rise above the wharf, creating informal seating and vantage points that frame the working harbour as a stage. Above this active ground plane, the market hall accommodates 12,200 square metres of fishmongers, restaurants, cafés and specialty vendors. The spatial planning carefully separates operational and public circulation.
Regenerative design extends across both land and water systems. Rainwater capture and reuse strategies reduce potable water demand by approximately 45 percent. Seabins and living seawalls contribute to improved marine health within the bay, enhancing habitat complexity and supporting aquatic biodiversity. Recycled timber furniture, low-carbon concrete and carefully selected material palettes minimise embodied carbon.
The public landscape strengthens ecological performance while shaping a generous civic setting. Eighty-seven new trees and more than 13,000 plantings, predominantly salt-tolerant Sydney Coastal native species, establish a resilient foreshore ecology. Subtle references to maritime culture are embedded within the landscape language, complemented by flashes of safety orange that acknowledge the site’s industrial lineage.
Generous external stairs wrap the building’s perimeter, gently ascending from the surrounding public domain into the heart of the market experience. These stairs double as informal dining terraces overlooking Blackwattle Bay, extending the landscaped foreshore vertically and reinforcing the sense of permeability between city, building and harbour.
The result is a project that operates simultaneously as infrastructure, marketplace and public realm.
The result is a project that operates simultaneously as infrastructure, marketplace and public realm.
- TEAM 3XN GXN, in association with BVN Architecture and ASPECT Studios, Multiplex, Mott MacDonald, AT&L, WSP
- PHOTOGRAPHY Rasmus Hjortshøj, Tom Roe, Sara Vita, Jo Tokunaga (ASPECT Studios)
