Tzannes and Cox Richardson and Foster + Partners have won the State’s highest award for urban design, the Lloyd Rees Award for 2017, and also an Architecture award for Sustainable Architecture, for their work on the visionary and ambitious urban renewal precinct, Central Park Sydney.
The jury said Central Park was ‘an exemplar of precinct renewal’, one that ‘demonstrates the importance of transit-orientated high density developments particularly when population growth and the pull to more intensive urbanisation are key issues facing many cities throughout the world.”
The success of the Central Park urban village demonstrates how a former industrial site can be transformed into a low-energy, high density, culturally vibrant and attractive community centre that effectively integrates with its surroundings. Over one third of the 5.8 hectare residential, commercial and retail site is devoted to public, open spaces. The masterplan therefore revolved around a spacious urban park, which covers 6,400 square metres in size.
Jury Citation for the Lloyd Rees Award 2017: ‘It is impossible to overlook the ambition, scale or impact of Central Park on urban design in Sydney. The transformation of the former Carlton United Brewery site today stands as an exemplar of precinct renewal. Incorporating a variety of uses including retail, residential and student housing, the success of the development has brought new energy to surrounding streets and reconnected neighbouring Chippendale.
“While the masterplan may have evolved over time, it is testament to the original urban design framework that public domain and design excellence values embedded in the plan were able to be retained over the long term. The high quality of architecture and public space delivered is a significant achievement for a development of this scale, and would not have been achievable without the collaboration, skill and advocacy of many authors consistently working together towards the best outcome for the precinct.
This includes acknowledging the critical role the City of Sydney has played in championing the environmental initiatives embedded in the precinct. While politics may have marred the early history of the project, the sustainability inclusions offered at Central Park are exemplary and offer a high degree of public benefit.
Jury Citation for NSW AIA Architecture Award for Sustainable Architecture 2017:
‘The success of the finished project makes it easy to forget the visionary foresight and the ensuing challenges for the design team to convince all stakeholders of the merits of implementing a high-density, sustainable and contextually sensitive project on a key city site.
“The masterplan is designed to be collaborative and adaptable, to interface respectfully and openly with the existing context to the south and to create a series of highly usable public spaces via a community-engaged place-making programme.
The combination of residential, commercial and retail uses on the site facilitates the advantages of the tri-generation system and demonstrates how we can shift towards a more sustainable energy distribution system while also providing reliable energy. The mixed-use nature of the project and proximity to the key Sydney transportation hub offers a real alternative to long commutes and private car use.
“ The project demonstrates the importance of transit-orientated high density developments particularly when population growth and the pull to more intensive urbanisation are key issues facing many cities throughout the world.’
