Why can’t a street also be a park? Could we turn Sydney’s city carparks into communal green spaces? And what if we transformed the countless pockets of neglected residual land that dot Sydney into biodiverse micromeadows?
These are just some of the pointed questions posed by the winning entries in the inaugural Public Space Ideas Competition organized by the Committee for Sydney and NSW government with the support of AECOM and the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects.
Eight projects have received awards in the competition, chosen from a pool of 500 entries. NSW planning minister Rob Stokes says the innovative ideas on display show the transformative potential of public space projects. “Whether [it] is a patch of grass near home, or an empty laneway on the way to the train station – all public space can be reimagined,” he says.
Taking home the Minister’s prize is a proposal from a group of landscape architects, architects and designers from Arup to transform a 10-kilometre pipeline running from Pipehead to Potts Hill into an interconnected green spine for Sydney’s Western suburbs.
The largely fenced-off pipeline corridor currently contains three pipelines, only one of which is operating, carrying potable water. The Arup design team says that opening the reserve surrounding the pipeline and decommissioning the inoperable pipes will revitalize the linear landscape and turn it into “community-loved infrastructure.”
Winning the award for best open space idea is a team from Cred Consulting, whose idea is to transform underused open space into micromeadows to connect to nature, protect threatened fauna and flora, and “beautify our neighbourhoods.” The spaces they’re thinking of are empty green spaces that, due to their limited street frontage and location in the middle of residential blocks, serve little benefit to residents as they are. “Our idea is transformational because it is changing the way we think about public space as areas of unencumbered green space – into areas that are beautiful, naturally established, and require minimal intervention or maintenance from humans,” they write.
The winner of the best public facility idea is The Modern Carpark, a proposal from the City of Bankstown that envisions city carparks as community “hotspots” with facilities like bike and ride-sharing areas, parcel pickup lockers, community arts and culture spaces, and open space where people can socialize and relax.
Recognized for the best street idea is Georgina de Beaujeu, who proposes a new way to use private developments as a catalyst to transform public streetscapes.
“How?” de Beaujeu asks. “By looking at public and private land in our streets holistically – changing setbacks and offsets, closing roads, changing traffic movements and speeds, adopting shared permeable driveways, underground parking, median/blister, verge and private tree plantings, covered/underground powerlines and mixed tree planting to enable large trees to shade the road – the list goes on.”
Other winning ideas include a plan to introduce a 30kph speed limit for non-arterial roads, a scheme to change the way we use open space and water in South Sydney and a proposal to unlock the potential of Sydney’s historic urban utility infrastructure.
Committee for Sydney CEO Gabriel Metcalf says the COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the importance of public spaces in Sydney.
“Many of the entries focus on ways to improve Sydney’s natural environment and green spaces, as well as encouraging safer roads and more access for walking and cycling,” she says. “As our city rebuilds from the pandemic, we have a great opportunity to reshape the city and make it even more enjoyable for the people who live and work here.”
To see all the winning ideas, head here. More
