The key idea for LAVA's shortlisted competition entry was to create an inhabited landform rather than simply plonking a building onto the former container terminal site in Sydney’s inner west. The building, the car park and the surrounding zones become publicly accessible land and activate the area. The elements are formed using recycled steel from the former storage shed and folding it into a continuous landscape.
The design methodology takes a single building, the main international passenger terminal for the port of Sydney, and connects it with its local environment, and with other key points on the harbour. Two zones clearly define functions of arrivals and logistics. Ferry and buses connect with the CBD.
Performance, activation and interaction were the drivers for the terminal design. Sustainability, material reuse, spatial flexibility and a staged masterplan were key elements. Forging city links, local pedestrian use and residential amenity creates an iconic presence.
The sustainable performance factors included natural daylight and ventilation, wastewater positive, carbon neutral, organisational efficiency, material reuse and recycling and spatial flexibility.
The multiuse facility opens to the community with special events, exhibitions and markets and the site is activated with a park with street performances, open-air cinemas, restaurants and cafes making it a responsive public asset on non-ship days.
It embodies local integration, activation of the site with minimal intervention, flexible multiuse spaces, transport and pedestrian connections and sustainable efficiencies.
