2006
IFLAer Conference
Site Tours
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Conference
Sponsor
Conference &
2006 National Sponsor
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Tour
A: Sydney
Olympic Park
Sponsored
by 
This
tour will incorporate the following sites:
Northern
Water Feature
From
wasteland to wetland... Homebush Bay, once
an ugly wasteland, has been rejuvenated to
become one of the world’s premier recreational
precincts. The Northern Water Feature sets
a precedent in the rehabilitation of a landfill
site to a symbolic international landscape.
The
Northern Water Feature, which terminates
the main boulevard at Sydney Olympic Park,
incorporates a series of wetland fingers
that have been sculpted and shaped to encourage
the movement of water through a cleansing
wetland system of vegetated marsh zones.
Haslam’s
Pier floats elegantly over the wetland. Pedestrian
flow from the boulevard continues horizontally
past the water feature out over the treatment
ponds. The Northern Water Feature represents
the seamless integration between design and
ecology.
Brickpit
Ring
The
Brickpit Ring, due for completion in December
2005, is an elevated circular walkway that
will allow visitors to access Brickpit from
above while preserving the habitat of the
endangered Green and Golden Bell frog.
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The
new Ring will provide visitors with
interpretive material linking the history
of the Brickpit with the evolution
of the Green and Golden Bell frog’s
habitat along with the unique geology
and the innovative water recycling
initiative at Sydney Olympic Park.
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Wentworth
Common
Due
to the extensive ongoing use of Bicentennial
Park for picnicking and casual recreation,
an additional destination was required so
that the parklands at Sydney Olympic Park
become Sydney’s premier recreational
destination.
Wentworth
Common has been identified for this purpose.
An important objective of the new work is
to ensure than an effective and robust planting
scheme was implemented. The aim is to make
the venue distinctive as a physical and visual
entity. This implies that the outcome of
the planting design will present to the visitor
a sense of uniqueness distinguishing this
as a special destination.
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Tour
B: Victoria
Park, Zetland
Sponsored
by 
Landcom’s
multi-award-winning Victoria Park development
at Zetland, in Sydney’s booming inner
south, is a landmark urban renewal project
transforming 25 hectares of former industrial
lands into a distinctive high quality living
and working environment.
Only
minutes from the CBD, Victoria Park offers
high quality medium to high density accommodation
close to the city, but with the values and
sense of community usually associated with
a leafy suburb.
The
project has won 16 awards for its leading urban
design features, innovative water management
system and for its practical commitment to
ecological sustainability.
Development
began in 1997 when plans were drawn up to turn
a large, under-utilised industrial site into
an exciting urban oasis. The vision was to
create a green, vibrant mixed-use community
with a unique character, integrated into the
existing fabric of South Sydney.
Landcom’s
progressive approach has demonstrated the power
of finding synergy among economic, social and
environmental objectives. The superlots created
by Landcom have been progressively sold to
developers who commissioned some of Australia’s
top architects to design the buildings, in
conjunction with Landcom’s Design Review
Panel. The site’s architects follow a
detailed code, which ensures a consistently
high quality development sympathetic to its
environment.
A
key attraction of the site is the extent of
green, open space featuring four parks covering
more than three hectares. These parks have
been designed with community in mind, providing
a diverse range of facilities including a children’s
playground, BBQs, a multipurpose court, hit-up
wall, large informal grass areas and seating
areas.
Approximately
1,300 residents are discovering Victoria Park’s
benefits first hand, forming a friendly, diverse
community with neighbourhood values. On completion
in 2010, the residential precinct will be home
to over 3,000 people.
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Tour
C: The Remaking of Pyrmont – A
Walking Tour
Sponsored
by 
Pyrmont
reached its industrial pinnacle during the
first part of the 20th century and then slid
inexorably into decline over the following
50 years. On the western flanks of the city,
it was strategically placed to reap the benefits
of an expanding post-colonial urban population.
At
its peak it was home to 30,000 residents. A
maritime connection of ship building, docklands
and wool stores ensured Pyrmont stayed relevant
to international trade while railways, power
stations and incinerators demonstrated the
government’s belief that delivering infrastructure
and industry to Pyrmont was central to the
broader goal of national development.
But
by the 1980’s industry had closed, maritime
and transport facilities were redundant and
high polluting power generation had moved out
of the city. Pyrmont was abandoned and ripe
for redevelopment.
The
government created the City West Development
Corporation with the task of remaking Pyrmont
as a desirable residential suburb. Studies
were undertaken, master plans prepared and
partnerships were formed to deliver the vision
of a predominately low to medium rise residential
form, respecting its historical legacy and
maintaining its identity separate from, but
connected to, the central business district.
Click
on image for link
This
walking tour will follow the waterfront from
Darling Harbour on the eastern side of Pyrmont
to Jacksons Landing on the western side and
focus on telling the story of neighbourhood
making. The tour will visit new residential
precincts at Darling Island, the Pyrmont headland,
and Jacksons Landing. We’ll pass through
new public parks and discuss along the way
the evolution of master plans from vision to
reality, architectural expression, public domain
policies and technical manuals and to what
degree the transformation has been a success
in delivering a quality urban domain. On the
return trip to Darling Harbour, we will take
the light rail, which now utilises one of the
redundant heavy rail corridors.
Please
note that we can modify the route on the day
depending on weather, time, fitness and focused
interest. It should take in the order of 3
hours with rest stops at local bars and cafes.
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Tour
D: Western
Parklands
Sponsored
by 
In
December 2004, former Premier Mr Bob Carr,
announced a new vision for urban
parkland in western Sydney – a conservation
and recreation haven in the form of a vast open
space parkland equivalent in size to 25 Centennial
Parks - to be managed by a new Trust.
The
Western Sydney Parklands are an example of
how reserved
green corridors evolve over time
and the important role of long term metropolitan
planning. Identified in 1968, the former State
Planning Authority started buying up strategic
parcels of land in western Sydney with the
initial vision of the Parklands in mind. However
it has
taken some 35 years to now have an overall
Parklands vision.
Click
on image for larger image of plan
The
Parklands are now centrally located to form
a conservation and recreation
link between the new North West and South West
release areas. Dubbed a ‘mega-park’ by
the media, the Parklands will have walking and
cycling trails, restored biodiversity links,
areas for sustainable agriculture, trail bike
and BMX tracks, an outdoor camping site for school
groups and adventure programs, sites for cultural
heritage interpretation and sustainability research
programs, new picnic grounds and playgrounds
and regional sporting complexes. The parklands
already contain significant recreation venues
including four of the 2000 Olympics venues, regional
parks and major motor sports venues.
Click
here for more information about the parklands current
design competition for Bungaribee Precinct.
Click
here for more information on the overall Parklands Vision
This
site visit has been developed to explore sites
at both different times of evolution
and speed of experience. To explore the 27 kilometres
long Parklands we will utilise the soon to be
completed Sydney Orbital Road (M7) as well as
some short walks along the scenic ridge areas.
The
visit will explore key activity nodes, planned
and recently completed sites including:
- Prospect
Reservoir – heritage landscape
part of Sydney’s water supply.
- The
Bungaribee Precinct – site of new integrated
park and residential precinct currently
the subject of a major ideas completion
- Sydney
International Equestrian Centre – 2000
Olympic Games Venue
- New
Plough & Harrow
Precinct – new
$18 Million regional parkland.
- Hoxton
Park Ridge – remote area with
hidden valleys, scenic views to Blue
Mountains
and City.
Equestrian Centre
Hoxton
Park Ridge
Click
on above image for more images
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Tour
E: Former
BP Site Parklands, Waverton
Sponsored
by North
Sydney Council 
Former BP Site Parklands
Landscape Architect: McGregor + Partners
Client and Project Manager: North Sydney Council
Location: Larkin Street, Waverton, Sydney
The
new public parkland at the former BP site was
officially opened on the 12th of March by Tom
Uren and the mayor of North Sydney, Genia McCaffery.
Located on Waverton Peninsula, the site is the
first of a series of waterfront areas in North
Sydney, to be transformed from industrial depots
into public parklands. The new, 2.5 hectare, harbourside
park, comparable in size to Pyrmont Point Park,
is a result of the New South Wales Government’s
decision in 1997, to convert Waverton’s three
industrial sites for public use and reject their
sale for residential development.
Following approval of the Waverton Peninsula Strategic
Master Plan, undertaken by Clouston Associates
for North Sydney Council and the subsequent remediation
of the site by BP Australia, mcgregor+partners
landscape architects were commissioned as lead
consultant to prepare detailed design drawings
and oversee construction of the new park.
The
former BP site once housed 31 storage tanks,
offices and massive concrete perimeter bund walls
to prevent oil spills reaching the harbour. The
design acknowledges the site’s former use
through the restrained composition of simple, yet
robust structures. The new design celebrates the
site’s industrial heritage and harbour location
with a series of open spaces, wetlands and spectacular
viewing decks that embrace the dramatic, semi-circular
sandstone cliff cuttings where the oil tanks formally
stood. A combination of concrete and metal staircases
wraps around the cliffs and project over the water
sensitive, wildlife-attracting ecosystem found
below.
Photographer: Simon Wood
As a result of the site being used for oil storage
for over 60 years, it had become contaminated and
in order to create the park, a variety of environmentally
sustainable design initiatives were employed. Existing
site soil, rather than being excavated and consigned
to landfill, was mixed with imported organic matter
and re-used across the site. Provenance seed stock
was collected from nearby Balls Head, propagated
and used as plant stock to reinstate the natural
flora of the site.
The design incorporated an integrated stormwater
collection and filtration system that directs site
water into detention ponds planted with aquatic
plants. These ponds filter and clean the water
prior to it discharging into the harbour. The establishment
of this detention system has additional benefits
in that it has created new habitats for a variety
of frogs as well as ducks and other bird species.
The park's defining material finishes of in-situ
concrete and galvanised steel are references to
the industrial past and were selected for their
low-cost, low-impact and low-maintenance qualities.
Photographer:
Simon Wood
Sydney
harbour is at a nexus, where post-industrial
lands are searching to find uses that go beyond
their pure commercial potential. The Former BP
Park is emblematic of the moves to reclaim the
harbour foreshore for the people of Sydney while
recognising the importance of retaining a site’s
heritage.
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