Sydney has traditionally been Australia’s major architecture hub. Boasting incredible architecture and design feats that have seen world acclaim such as the Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge, the city lies on a foundation built by architectural greats.
The city has just been ranked the 6th most liveable city out of 140 countries globally. A major reason for the city’s high liveability rate (96.1 out of 100) – as well Melbourne’s number one position – has long been its low density, relatively low crime rate and quality infrastructure.
Sydney’s success as a city owes a great deal to the history and quality of its architecture and construction, and these aspects are continuing to shape the city into the 21st century with a barrage of new developments.
Much like every other major Australian city this year, Sydney is currently undergoing a complete precinct update. These major developments are intended to help modernise our cities, and make room for a projected population growth of 16 million people over the next forty years.
Perhaps the most major, and naturally controversial, development to the New South Wales capital is the Barangaroo development. The highly publicised $6 billion Sydney Harbourfront project has gone through a whirlwind of societal love and hatred due to planning changes and government communication.
Lend Lease are developing the 22 hectare site, including the much anticipated Headland Park.
The major development offers the potential to completely change the look of Sydney. And it is partly due to this factor that Sydney-siders feel such an involvement with the initiative, as it could possibly create a cultural shift, and if it is as successful as projected, will offer the city an entirely new outlet for growth.
In addition to Headland Park, the sustainable mixed-use development of Central Park in the suburb of Chippendale, led by Frasers Property Australia, has been faced with controversy due to a Greenpeace accusation of unsustainable wood use. Moving past this issue however, the development offers a fantastic promotion of a sustainable “urban village” and is of a scale that sets a benchmark for national projects.
Further world class developments in the city include the first ever Green Star heritage retrofit of Legion House in the CBD. Undertaken by major Australian construction company Grocon, this development is shooting for the much coveted 6 Star NABERS rating with a completion date in 2013.
Another development making Sydney stand out as the redevelopment capital is their $900 million Sydney Multifunctional Convention and Entertainment Centre (SMEC), designed by Cox Architects. Work on this initiative is set to begin in September 2012 with a predicted 2015 completion.
SMEC will tie together these great new developments under the NSW government’s development master plan, playing a key part in the reconnection of the city.
With the total value of building and engineering work in the state up by 5.19 % to $21.218 billion in the first quarter of the year, it is clear that Sydney is moving from strength to strength at the moment, with these new developments offering them the luxury to grow.
As Australian Institute of Architects’ NSW President Brian Zulaikha puts it, “Sydney is a big city and needs to grow”, it’s a simple statement, but one that couldn’t ring truer in this exciting time for the industry.
