AKIN has been announced as the winning team in the Barangaroo Harbour Park Design Competition, a project that will transform a central location along the waterfront of Sydney, Australia. The winning team is a First Nations-led and Sydney-based ground composed of Yerrabingin, Architectus, Flying Fish Blue, Jacob Nash Design, and Studio Chris Fox, with Arup as engineering consultants. Through its designers, the group integrates Indigenous knowledge systems along with landscape architecture, regenerative design, public art, and place-making.
AKIN will reshape 1.85 hectares of reclaimed land in Central Barangaroo as part of a broader 33-hectare precinct that is under development. AKIN’s proposal is rooted in the rich heritage of the place, as its history began over 7000 years ago as the land used by Gadigal peoples for hunting, fishing, canoeing, swimming, and gathering. Through this intervention, the designers aim to create a place of connection, reconciliation, and regeneration.
The Country-centered design will support the regeneration of ecological systems, drawing insects, birds, and other fauna to the park. Local, native plants and tree species such as Sydney Red Gum, Casuarina and Cabbage Tree Palm also feature prominently, along with a variety of endemic grasses. Water plays an integral role in the new parkland, as runoff will be collected and filtered through the landscape before being returned to the Harbour.
Additionally, the design incorporates large-scale public artworks, or “vessels” in the words of AKIN, each highlighting the natural elements of special importance in Indigenous knowledge systems. The water vessel aims to create a connection to the Harbour, providing a place for gathering and ceremony while also framing views of Me-Mel Island, a cultural landmark for Traditional Custodians. The wind vessel gives a voice to the winds coming into Barangaroo, sharing stories and songs with all the park’s visitors, while the moon vessel aims to capture the movement of celestial bodies across the sky. In addition to the public artworks, the park will also provide space for up to 6,000 people to gather, featuring winding paths, spaces for rest and relaxation and well as kiosks and additional amenities.
For us, this is much more than a park – it's a place to celebrate an enduring culture and to move with Country, acknowledging and experiencing our collective past and present while dreaming of our future. Our design is a new chapter connected to the most ancient of stories, carved in the sandstone of Sydney: the story of Country and of us, its people. - Yerrabingin founder and CEO, Christian Hampson
On a similar note, a team composed of Snøhetta and Hassell was announced as the winners of an international competition to transform Sydney's Harbourside in Darling Harbour into a new mixed-use destination, featuring an all-inclusive shopping, hospitality, and entertainment center, a residental tower and the redesign of public spaces on the waterfront. Additionally, the municipality of Sydney recently announced the winning team selected to design the contemporary museum Powerhouse Ultimo. The winning team is composed of Architectus, Durbach Block Jaggers Architects, Tyrrell Studio, Youssofzay + Hart, Akira Isogawa, Yerrabingin, Finding Infinity, and Arup.
