Five finalists shortlisted for City of Sydney’s Green Square Aquatic Centre designs

Five finalists shortlisted for City of Sydney’s Green Square Aquatic Centre designs
Jonathan ChancellorDecember 7, 2020

Innovative plans are among the five Australian finalists shortlisted from 144 entries in the City of Sydney’s competition to design the Green Square Aquatic Centre and neighbouring Gunyama Park.

The shortlisted entries add green touches to habitats lost during Zetland’s industrial expansion. 

The five finalists are:

Andrew Burns Architect – Sydney
Cullinan Ivanov Partnership – Sydney
CHROFI & McGregor Coxall – Sydney
Andrew Burges Architects – Sydney
TYP-TOP Studio (Andrew Daly and Kevin Liu) – Sydney

Scenarios depicted within some of the final designs include  a picket-fence reminder of old cricket fields, a grand central foyer with sprawling views, swimming pools sunken amid revived wetlands, a beach and boardwalk, and connected pools that can be rearranged for fun.

Lord Mayor Clover Moore said the number of high-quality entries was a testament to the City of Sydney’s commitment to design excellence.

“Green Square is Australia’s biggest urban development and one of Sydney’s fastest growing and most exciting new communities,” the Lord Mayor said.

“With 40,000 residents and 22,000 workers on the way, the City is moving ahead with the construction of new community facilities. Our new aquatic centre, parks and library will be at the heart of this growing community.”

Located on Joynton Avenue, opposite the former South Sydney Hospital, the aquatic centre will house an outdoor 50 metre, an indoor 25 metre pool, a leisure pool, a hydrotherapy pool and a gym.

The aquatic centre and park will form part of the commercial, retail and cultural heart of the $8 billion greater Green Square redevelopment on the city’s southern fringe.

An independent jury selected the five finalists in the design competition. The second stage over the next 10 weeks requires the finalists to prepare more detailed designs and carry out cost assessments.

The jury will recommend a winner to Council with an announcement expected later this year.

The five members of the Aquatic Centre and Gunyama Park Competition Jury are:

Chair: Carey Lyon, architect – Director of Lyons, an award-winning architecture and urban design practice based in Melbourne; acknowledged leader in urban design, sustainability and the design of research/learning environments.

Professor Richard Johnson MBE AO, architect – Director of Johnson Pilton Walker, an award-winning architecture and urban design practice based in Sydney; Life Fellow of the Australian Institute of Architects; RAIA Gold Medalist;

Camilla Block, architect – Director of Durbach Block Jaggers, an award-winning architecture and urban design practice based in Sydney; acknowledged design leader for residential, commercial and civic projects;

Professor Gini Lee, landscape architect – Elisabeth Murdoch Chair of Landscape Architecture, University of Melbourne; registered landscape architect; member of City of Melbourne Parks & Gardens Advisory Committee; and

Greg Holman, architect/aquatic buildability and construction – Principal Architect at Harry Seidler & Associates, in charge of the winning design and construction oversight of the Ian Thorpe Aquatic Centre in Sydney.

Jonathan Chancellor

Jonathan Chancellor is one of Australia's most respected property journalists, having been at the top of the game since the early 1980s. Jonathan co-founded the property industry website Property Observer and has written for national and international publications.

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