The Darling Harbour transformation project is the city’s most significant urban renewal initiative in 20 years – a once in a generation opportunity.

People were firmly at the heart of our design process for transforming the iconic Darling Harbour precinct. We wanted to both ‘wow’ first-time visitors and delight those who use the space the most – the local community of workers and residents.

The remaking of Darling Harbour, one of Australia’s most visited public places and a critical location of central Sydney, has changed the heart of the city. It better connects the city and offers new places for people to gather, to relax and to play.

By reinvigorating parklands, integrating landscapes and open space and incorporating water features, public artworks, plazas and event spaces we have created opportunities for events and activities as varied as open-air concerts, circus events, market stalls and busking – and simple pleasures like splashing in shallow pools. Our response to the original brief delivers high quality, open and flexible spaces that allow for the greatest variety of both casual uses and organised events.

Amid the open spaces and landscape are detailed areas of interest and smaller-scale zones where people can go and relax – away from the crowds.

Improved pedestrian, cycle and public transport connections make it easier for people to access the precinct’s previously disconnected immediate neighbourhoods, the harbour and the Sydney city centre.

Darling Harbour highlights

_The Boulevard, a promenade that extends the pedestrian connections between Central Station and Cockle Bay
_Chinese Garden Plaza, a forecourt to the existing Chinese Garden of Friendship that features shallow water pools for children’s play and acts as a market and event space for the precinct
_Folded landscape, an integrated native Australian landscape that rises from the Boulevard, providing elevated platforms and access to the three ICC Sydney venues
_Tumbalong Park, now 40% bigger and complete with a stage, event screen, improved lighting and greater expanses of grassed areas enabling a richer entertainment program

Public art makes a vital and engaging place

Visitors to Darling Harbour are engaged and inspired by an audio-visual installation, soundscape, pollen sculptures and imagery of native flora pressed into the concrete façade of the folded landscape. These large ‘big bang’ and smaller ‘fine grain’ public artworks were integrated from the beginning of the design process.

They include:
_data.scape by Ryoji Ikeda
_Sandstone Pollen by Maria Fernanda Cardoso
_Entelekheia by Danie Mellor
_Sound Habitat by Janet Laurence

HASSELL delivered the urban design and public realm for Darling Harbour, working in close partnership with Lendlease and the New South Wales Government.

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Project Details

Client Infrastructure NSW / Lendlease

Location Sydney, Australia

Expertise Public Realm

Scale 20 ha

Status Completed

Year 2016

Imagery Simon Wood