


Client:
Infrastructure NSW
Location:
Sydney, NSW
Completion:
Design competition won (2023)
Design Partners:
AKIN: Yerrabingin, Architectus, Flying Fish Blue, Jacob Nash Design, Studio Chris Fox
Contact:
Luke Johnson
Architectus is part of the First Nations-led AKIN design team, winners of the New South Wales Government’s Barangaroo Harbour Park Design Competition – an initiative set to turn a prime stretch of Sydney waterfront into world-class open space.
The Sydney-based AKIN team is made up of Yerrabingin, Architectus, Flying Fish Blue, Jacob Nash Design, and Studio Chris Fox, with Arup as engineering consultants.
The group includes leading thinkers and designers in Indigenous knowledge systems, landscape architecture, architecture, regenerative design, public art, and placemaking.
Working alongside Infrastructure NSW, AKIN will reshape 1.85 hectares of reclaimed land in the heart of Central Barangaroo, the last section of the broader 22-hectare precinct to be developed.
Served by a new Sydney Metro station, ferry wharves, and pedestrian links, the new landscape will host public events and entertainment, while shops, restaurants, apartments, and offices will emerge around its edges.
Named after the Cammeraygal woman and influential leader of the Eora Nation, Barangaroo has more than 7,000 years of history and stories to tell. The land’s Traditional Custodians, the Gadigal, used the area for hunting, fishing, canoeing, and swimming, while its foreshore was a gathering place.
AKIN’s Country-led design is deeply rooted in this rich heritage, weaving together the threads of landscape, art, and architecture to create a place of connection, reconciliation, and regeneration.
Country-centered design initiatives will support regenerative ecology and natural systems, drawing insects, birds, and other fauna.
A landscape of local, native plantings will speak directly of place, with tree species such as Sydney Red Gum, Casuarina and Cabbage Tree Palm featuring prominently, along with a variety of endemic grasses.
Water will also play a vital role in the new parkland, with runoff collected and filtered through the landscape before being returned to the Harbour in better condition.
The design incorporates major public artworks revolving around the natural elements of water, wind, and moon, referred to as ‘vessels’ by AKIN. The elements all have special significance in Indigenous knowledge systems.
In addition to the public artwork, this new destination will provide open space for up to 6,000 people to gather, with benches, paths, bike storage, cafés, and other amenities adding to the park’s diverse appeal.
Client:
Infrastructure NSW
Location:
Sydney, NSW
Completion:
Design competition won (2023)
Design Partners:
AKIN: Yerrabingin, Architectus, Flying Fish Blue, Jacob Nash Design, Studio Chris Fox
Contact:
Luke Johnson