A new park on Sydney’s former Water Police site reconnects the area to the waterfront.
August 2nd, 2010
Harris Street, Pyrmont is now reconnected with the waterfront for the first time in over a hundred years.
Pirrama Park, with its dramatic corner café and waterside plaza, anchors the street to Elizabeth Macarthur Bay, replacing various industrial uses that previously dominated the site and made it inaccessible to the public.
ASPECT Studios together with Hill Thalis Architecture + Urban Projects and CAB Consulting prepared the master plan and design for the City of Sydney Council.
The design teams were faced with a vast, concrete platform and wharves remaining from the activities of the site’s former occupant, the Water Police.
The opportunity to reconnect Harris Street with the harbour was a unanimous response to the site by the design teams.
This opportunity was developed through three design principles: the flexible park, the richness and variety of the park experience, and engaging with water.
ASPECT coordinated the park’s design with Hill Thalis focusing on the architectural elements of the project.
Essentially, the park’s form is focused on two spines – a water promenade defined by an edge suggestive of the former shoreline, and Harris Street, which is terminated by the plaza, canopy and belvedere.
The multi-purpose park spine runs north-south through the site and is formed from a walkway, a low, straight retaining wall edged with a parallel planting bed and irregular concrete walls reminiscent of the former shoreline.
As with many elements of the site, the retaining wall integrates multiple functions.
There are several water rooms on the harbour side of the wall – the inlet and pole garden – while on the landward side there are gum groves, playgrounds and lawn areas.
There is a design vocabulary of robust and brutalist elements that reference the past industrial use of the site and the relationship between the park’s elements.
There is a complex and thorough logic and process behind the design of the building, where all the elements, materials and functions are interrelated in a poetic manner.
“The Canopy provides generous shade and shelter to the elements, and becomes the architectural symbol of the park,” says Thalis.
It is a symbol that has already caught the imagination of park users in how they use every aspect of the building and has opened the park up to its future.
Tempe Macgowan is a landscape architect and freelance writer on landscape architecture.
A searchable and comprehensive guide for specifying leading products and their suppliers
Keep up to date with the latest and greatest from our industry BFF's!
Discover the manifestation of century-old techniques realised with modern technologies
The American Hardwood Export Council promotes the works of next-gen designers through Discovered Singapore exhibition happening from 16 to 22 May at Red Dot Design Museum Singapore.
Savage Design’s approach to understanding the relationship between design concepts and user experience, particularly with metalwork, transcends traditional boundaries, blending timeless craftsmanship with digital innovation to create enduring elegance in objects, furnishings, and door furniture.
As organisations adapt the hybrid strategy in the bid to best prepare for the post-pandemic future, we look at how a focus on inclusivity and equality of experience influences the role of the office – and how businesses can create adaptable spaces that foster collaboration, connection and concentration.
Hamish Little and Matt Hicks are the owners of Lightproject – treating lighting as art.
Overcoming pandemic hurdles to redefine guest experiences amidst Sydney’s bustling entertainment precinct, The Darling has undergone a two-year restoration that melds Art Deco interiors with the necessities of hotel living.
The internet never sleeps! Here's the stuff you might have missed
Discover the manifestation of century-old techniques realised with modern technologies
From a modular armchair and statement lighting, to a table crafted from coffee waste and reissued classics, these are the best new products to launch at this year’s Milan Design Week.