Published as-
“Sydney Waterfront – An Urban Design Experience”, Architecture + Design, October 2006
Walking along the Sydney waterfront is like attending the Urban Design colloquium of Prof. Foster Armstrong. The dapper academician’s Texan drawl explaining vista, enclosure, edge, periphery, node ET all, heard years before at an university classroom, suddenly started ringing in my ear, as I gingerly stepped into the Central Quay.
Flanked by the iconic Sydney Opera House at one end and the elegant Harbour Bridge on the other, the gleaming skyscrapers at the backdrop, the vast promenade is one of the liveliest urban public places one of the best success stories of modern day Urban Design.
Use of water as an element of Urban Design is culture specific. Australians are an amphibious lot, given there preference for aquatic sports or building their cities along the edges of water. Those who can, build houses on water’s edge, with pontoon for boats. Those leaving inland, drive with boat trailers to the nearest lake or river to enjoy a weekend outdoor in benign climate. Sydney Harbour – officially called Port Jackson, is the world’s largest natural harbour and the city itself has grown along the edges of water.
Like most public places, Central Quay or Sydney Cove is multidimensional in character.
To Indigenous Australians, “Sydney Cove marks the invasion point, and the point from which the decimation of the Aboriginal people began”, explained Urban Sociologist, Andrew Nimmo. To postwar immigrants Sydney Cove is Australia’s equivalent of Staten Island. For Sydneysiders it is one of the city’s major transport hubs, where many thousands of people converge as part of their daily routine. For visitors it is, along with The Rocks and the Opera House, one the places that must be visited. It is perhaps Sydney’s only truly great public space – that is, “great” in terms of international significance. It may not be a place for mass rallies or demonstrations, but it is the centre of Sydney’s great public celebrations and forms a natural amphitheatre within which to view Sydney’s three chief icons, the Opera House, the Bridge and the harbour.
The Central Quay area developed in stages spanning over two hundred years of Australian history. The present form of a major urban recreational space is due to the renovation done in 1988 as part of the Australian Bicentennial celebrations.
A number of prominent architects were engaged under the overarching umbrella of the NSW Government Architecture Department to refurbish the Overseas Passenger Terminal, the FerryWharves, the pedestrian journey out to the Opera House and to complete an all-encompassing urban overlay of paving, signage, lighting and the like. The project was a great success and received from the RAIA the Lloyd Rees Award for Urban Design and the national Civic Design Award, along with a national Merit Award for the Overseas Passenger Terminal. Jon Utzǿrn designed, Sydney Opera House itself was built in 1973 and is one of the greatest works of modern architecture. The last major refurbishment was done in 2000, during the Olympic Games.
Functionally, Central Quay is a transportation convergence and interchange point for city rail, ferry, monorail and bus. But unlike most such places, where mode transport and its functional priorities over ride everything else, the Central Quay planning places the people first. It is human in scale and character, without sacrificing an iota of convenience of modern transportation planning. Cahill Expressway – an elevated highway and the Central Quay Station are connected to the promenade level by glass elevators, while the Station Platform itself acts as a sheltered viewing area.
The design theme of the waterfront is simplicity and avoidance of clutter. Only such activities are permitted which has relevance with the special characters of the place.
The promenade itself is lined with open air eateries and boutique shops – a wonderful lively place bustling with activities all the time. Simple street furniture and innovative paving pattern lend elegance and design unity. The paving includes occasional brass inscriptions about famous writers associated with Sydney. It is also called Writer’s Walk – a completely barrier free space, where you can ride a wheelchair all the way without any hindrance.
The entire area has an amorphous quality to it, what, William Whyte termed as the greatest plus point of a great public place. It is a place where the young office crowd head for diner in the gourmet seafood cafes. It is the place for the retired old ladies sit and knit sweaters. You can spend a fortune in a day at the art galleries, yet you can spend a day soaking in the atmosphere and people watching, without spending a penny. This is the place for the lovers to date and the young scholars to research over coffee. Aboriginal artists play dejeridoo (A very long flute), business men in staid pinstripes meet to discuss a deal and the Oriental tourists capture endless images in digital cameras.
As I returned back, I remembered Prof. Armstrong’s words, “It is not possible to come out of a great place, as it remains forever etched in your memory”.
