The decision to redevelop the site now known as
Barangaroo was made in 2003, when the then Premier Bob Carr
confirmed that Port Botany, which had commenced stevedoring
operation in 1979, would continue to grow as Sydney's shipping link
to the world. This meant that the stevedoring wharves at East
Darling Harbour would be transformed into a new urban precinct.
To ensure the best design opportunities and
encourage wide public debate, the NSW Government launched an
International Urban Design Competition in May 2005 to source ideas
and concepts that would underpin the transformation of
Barangaroo.
The competition brief stipulated that any
renewal of the site must:
- Provide a minimum of 50% new foreshore parkland for the people
of Sydney
- Enhance the growth and positioning of Sydney as the premier
business, cultural and living centre of the Asia-Pacific
region
- Activate the site with a combination of working and
recreational uses
- Incorporate the NSW Government's Public Foreshore 14km Walkway
from Woolloomooloo to Anzac Bridge.
The competition was a two-stage process. Stage
1 was open to all qualified architects, landscape architects,
planners and urban designers. Significant interest was generated in
the Competition from all over the world, with 137 entries received
and the finalists' exhibition attracting over 2,000 visitors.
In August 2005 the Competition Jury selected
five finalists to participate in a Stage 2 design competition.
In March 2006 the Competition Jury declared the
winning design by Hill Thalis Architecture + Urban Projects, Paul
Berkemeier Architects and Jane Irwin Landscape Architecture.
The Jury included 3 key recommendations be integrated
in the Hill Thalis submission in the next phase:
- A natural headland form which touches the water at the northern
end of the site
- A large northern cove located directly behind the headland to
further define the headland
- A larger intervention of the southern cove, located north of
Napoleon Street
Click
here to download a copy of the final East Darling Harbour
Sydney Urban Design Competition Stage 2 Jury Report.
Rogers Lippman and Lend Lease received
honourable mentions with complimentary reference to the headland
and coves created in their proposal. The Stage 2 design
competition exhibition at the Sydney Opera House attracted
approximately 4,000 attendees and over 100 submissions.
The Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority then
engaged Hill Thalis Architecture + Urban Projects, Paul Berkemeier
Architects and Jane Irwin Landscape Architecture to prepare a new
planning framework.
In 2006 the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority
submitted to the Department of Planning, the Barangaroo
Concept Plan submission. Following a public exhibition
process the Concept Plan was approved by the Planning Minister in
February 2007 with conditions requiring (as per the Jury
recommendations) the creation of a naturalistic headland park,
northern and southern coves as part of the approval.
An amendment to the Concept Plan was sought in
2008 to ensure Barangaroo added to the growth and availability of
commercial floor space within the CBD and cemented Sydney as a
premier financial services centre in the Asia-Pacific region.
In February 2009 the Minister for Planning approved the amendment
adding 120,000 square metres of commercial floor space to the
development zone within the existing envelopes.
In April 2008 worldwide development and
financing consortia were invited to bid for the development rights
for southern precinct (now known as Barangaroo South).
In September 2008, three development consortia were
shortlisted from eight Expressions of Interests
received. These were: Leightons, Macquarie Bank and Mirvac;
Lend Lease and Westpac; and Brookfield Multiplex.
These consortia were then invited to submit
comprehensive proposals for Barangaroo South. Following a
comprehensive review process in the categories of financial and
risk; design; sustainability; planning and delivery; marketing and
promotion and capability, Brookfield Multiplex and Lend Lease were
shortlisted to further develop their proposals.
The final phase bids were lodged in November
2009 and on 20 December 2009, the Government announced that Lend
Lease had been selected to develop and create Barangaroo South,
worth $6 billion.
