PETER WALKER’S POINT THE BARANGAROO RESERVE TRANSFORMS HARBOUR’S OLD INDUSTRIAL LANDSCAPE.

BY GWENETH LEIGH, ASLA BARANGAROO DELIVERY AUTHORITY DELIVERY BARANGAROO

78 / LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE MAGAZINE NOV 2016 LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE MAGAZINE NOV 2016 / 79 hen I was a child growing up in the suburbs of Philadelphia, my understanding of landscape was one of changing purpose. Cornfields were converted into housing subdivisions and office parks. WOld winding roads were straightened, thickened with extra lanes, and punc- tuated by traffic lights. It was the small discoveries—an arrowhead in the garden, a bullet lodged in a tree—that revealed the older stories of these fractured land- scapes. The layers of roads, power lines, and strip malls made any trace of a site’s earlier history difficult to imagine.

But what if we were to allow a landscape to break free from the confines of con- crete curbs, smooth out its industrial wrinkles, and pluck off architectural blemishes in an effort to recapture a sem- blance of its younger, more picturesque self? Where injections of earth and serve as the Botox for an aging landscape, erasing the creases of human develop-

RIGHT ment in favor of a more natural topogra- The Barangaroo phy. So begins the story of Barangaroo 2010 Reserve site before construction began. Reserve in Sydney, . COURTESY JOHNSON PILTON WALKER PILTON JOHNSON COURTESY

80 / LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE MAGAZINE NOV 2016 LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE MAGAZINE NOV 2016 / 81 This new headland park, opened in August 2015, transformed 14 acres of a flat concrete shipping terminal into an approximate vision of Sydney’s Botany Bay circa 1788. It is the first stage of a $6 billion (AUD), 54-acre ur- ban renewal development planned as a major extension of Sydney’s central business district to bring recreation, housing, shopping, and offices down to the water’s edge.

Barangaroo’s original headland evolved from being an important hunting and fishing area for the Aboriginal Cadigal people to becom- ing a hub for Sydney’s burgeoning shipping industry. Since the 1830s, successive devel- opment of the shoreline required land recla- mation and the cutting back of the existing cliffs. However, as time passed, and the size of commercial ships grew, port facilities were focused elsewhere given the inability of the site to accommodate modern commercial ships. In 2003, the New South Wales government slated the area for rede- velopment into parklands and commercial space; existing stevedoring companies were provided three years to relocate, leading to the site’s industrial demise by 2006.

Designed by Peter Walker, FASLA, of PWP Landscape Architecture, in association with RIGHT the Australian design practice Johnson Pilton The Barangaroo Walker (JPW), Barangaroo Reserve is sig- 2015 Reserve headland nificant in how it knits an enormous piece of

as completed in 2015. AUTHORITY DELIVERY BARANGAROO

82 / LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE MAGAZINE NOV 2016 LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE MAGAZINE NOV 2016 / 83 ABOVE Major James Taylor’s panorama of Sydney Harbour dates from the early 1820s. Millers Point neglected waterfront back into Sydney’s public is the outcropping with two realm. Standing along the generous outcrop windmills at right center. of rocky foreshore, with the waves tickling LEFT your toes and fig trees framing the sky, you Colonial-era wharves can almost imagine Captain Arthur Phillip at Millers Point. sailing past on his way to establish Great BELOW Britain’s famous penal colony along Sydney’s By the 1960s, the site modern shores. This vision is largely thanks was a busy container port. to the cunning and uncompromising resolve of the project’s champion, the former Prime Minister Paul Keating, who left office in 1996, appointed himself the guardian of Sydney’s harbor, and battled his way toward Baranga- roo’s delivery for more than a decade.

Keating has a reputation as one of Australia’s most cultured prime ministers. He is self- RIGHT educated in architecture, and has a passion for N Detail from an 1836 French Empire clocks and a euphoric appre- map showing the Millers Point headland ciation of Gustav Mahler. However, his ability in Sydney Harbour. to craft words in ways that can both flog

↘ BOTTOM AND TOP DOMAIN, IMAGES/PUBLIC HISTORIC DOMAIN IMAGES/PUBLIC HISTORIC

84 / LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE MAGAZINE NOV 2016 LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE MAGAZINE NOV 2016 / 85 2015

2012 HAMILTON LUND /BARANGAROO DELIVERY AUTHORITY DELIVERY /BARANGAROO LUND HAMILTON INSET AUTHORITY, DELIVERY BARANGAROO

86 / LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE MAGAZINE NOV 2016 LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE MAGAZINE NOV 2016 / 87 BARANGAROO — MASTER PLAN (DETAIL)

N PWP LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE LANDSCAPE PWP

88 / LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE MAGAZINE NOV 2016 LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE MAGAZINE NOV 2016 / 89 URBAN CONNECTIONS

N

→ and amuse has also made him one of Aus- the job, and they weren’t. In 2008, Keating tralia’s most feisty political warriors. When sent a letter to Morris Iemma, the premier Sydney’s Lord Mayor, Clover Moore, was of the New South Wales government, ac- delivered a petition with the signatures of companied by a sketch drawn up by Keat- 11,000 concerned Sydney residents request- ing himself, which stated the premier’s and ing an inquiry into Barangaroo’s develop- the treasurer’s agreement to allow Keating ment, she felt obligated to table the appeal in to have political authority and provide the Parliament. In response, Keating ripped into “broad guidance needed” for the design and her for bowing to “sandal-wearing, muesli- delivery of the headland. chewing, bike-riding pedestrians without any idea of the metropolitan quality of the city or Keating’s resolve to shed the site’s industrial what Sydney would lose if Barangaroo were maritime heritage in favor of developing it as a to fail.” When Keating refused to allow cruise natural domain and headland stirred the ire of ships to dock at Barangaroo, Carnival Aus- many within the Sydney community. In 2011, tralia’s executive chairman, Ann Sherry, told the Australian Institute of Architects’ New him: “Paul, the trouble with you is you don’t South Wales Chapter put forward an alterna- tive scheme they dubbed A Better Barangaroo, TOP LEFT go on cruises.” To which he quickly replied, The natural angle of “Well, Ann, I don’t own a wheelchair.” put together by a group of 57 independent ar- the local geological chitects and urban planners, which addressed strike is visible in the Like a terrier to a bone, Keating for years several attributes of the 54-acre site—including shallows at Laings Point, near Sydney. continued his pursuit of the headland by fi- a rethinking of Keating’s headland park. None nessing his way from spectator to eventually of the critique fazed him. “Naturalism has a TOP RIGHT Barangaroo’s becoming chairman of both the Public Do- place in urban design; we don’t have to have tessellated sandstone main and Design Review committees for the parks which are squares, flat, or worse,” Keat- blocks were oriented Barangaroo development. An international ing says. “The whole profession was opposed to match the angle of design ideas competition was arranged to to Barangaroo—the Institute of Architects in Sydney’s geological strike. ensure public consideration of the site, as Sydney all signed up to oppose it. And they all many different agencies were vying to take now love it,” he chuckles. “I’ve taught them OPPOSITE Downtown Sydney ownership of it. However, there was never something about landscape—something they with the Barangaroo any guarantee that the winners of the design should have known.” precinct shaded in red. competition—the Sydney firms Hill Thalis, These areas had been Paul Berkemeier Architect, and Jane Irwin Keating’s dogged pursuit of Barangaroo has largely inaccessible N to the public. Landscape Architecture—would be given been part of his broader ambition toward

↘ EARTH GOOGLE ARCHITECTURE LANDSCAPE PWP

90 / LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE MAGAZINE NOV 2016 LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE MAGAZINE NOV 2016 / 91 2010 2015

RIGHT Hard edges and sharp angles: A long concrete slab dominated the Barangaroo site before construction.

OPPOSITE Today a curving shoreline includes a new bay rimmed in local sandstone. The old slab THIS AND PAGE OPPOSITEWALKER, PILTON JOHNSON COURTESY is still faintly visible underwater, a ghost of the industrial past.

92 / LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE MAGAZINE NOV 2016 LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE MAGAZINE NOV 2016 / 93 PETER WALKER SKETCH — STONE PLAN

ABOVE Peter Walker’s early sketch for sandstone design at Barangaroo Reserve. PWP LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE LANDSCAPE PWP

94 / LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE MAGAZINE NOV 2016 LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE MAGAZINE NOV 2016 / 95 STONE OUTCROP REFERENCE PLAN BARANGAROO HEADLAND PARK — MAGAZINE ARCHITECTURE /LANDSCAPE 96 and reused onsite. project wasquarried Most sandstoneinthe sandstone drawing. Barangaroo Reserve RIGHT NOV 2016 NOV

PWP LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE MAGAZINE ARCHITECTURE LANDSCAPE NOV 2016/ NOV N

97 STONE FORESHORE — GENERAL 3–D VIEW FROM NORTH

→ re-creating the constellation of Sydney’s natu- ralistic headlands to emulate the way the harbor existed during European settlement. At the center is Goat Island—also known as historic Redfern Park Speech, delivered in Memel, the aboriginal word for the pupil of 1992, was a powerful reflection of the prob- the eye—which was the central place from lems that modern society had inflicted on which natives would canoe to the surround- Australia’s indigenous people: ing headlands of Ballast Point, Balls Head, STONE FORESHORE — and Barangaroo. “This was the intimate part It begins, I think, with that act of recogni- BLOCK POSITION PLAN

of the harbor where the Aboriginal people tion. Recognition that it was we who did BAULDERSTONE) (FORMERLY LEASE LEND BAULDERSTONE) (FORMERLY LEASE LEND lived,” Keating says. “For a city of five mil- the dispossessing. We took the traditional lion people, to be able to recover that natural lands and smashed the traditional way of own boat for the better part of a day, look- intimacy, which no other great city has, is a life. We brought the diseases. The alcohol. ing at Barangaroo and the other headlands thing to do.” We committed the murders. We took the from the water. It was important to him that children from their mothers. We practiced the team understood what had been lost at Keating has been very aware of the negative discrimination and exclusion. It was our ig- the site by comparing it to other headlands impact that European settlement continues norance and our prejudice. And our failure that were still intact, and he emphasized to wreak on Aboriginal peoples’ traditional to imagine these things being done to us. the need to reconnect Barangaroo back into way of life. During his administration in the With some noble exceptions, we failed to the fabric of the city—all the way down to 1990s, indigenous persons’ yearly income make the most basic human response and the water’s edge. Walker also understood was half the national average, infant mortal- enter into their hearts and minds. We failed Keating’s desire to create a design that didn’t ity was three times higher, and jails had 29 to ask, how would I feel if this were done focus on creating, as Walker says, “another TOP times more Aborigines than non-Aborigines to me? As a consequence, we failed to see Sandstone blocks— big white building to make a statement placed atop existing in custody. These statistics have not lessened that what we were doing degraded all of us. about Aboriginal life.” caissons—step down with time. Today, Australia’s indigenous to the shoreline. populations have a life expectancy that’s a When PWP and JPW were brought onto the To fully understand what it was that the in- OPPOSITE, BOTTOM decade less than non-indigenous people; they project in 2010, Keating worked closely with digenous Australians once had—and what Diagram of foreshore represent only 2 percent of the population, the team members to ensure they under- they had lost—required a monumental land- placement defines yet compose more than a quarter (27 percent) stood the cultural and physical significance scape intervention. So Walker set about to wet blocks, tidal blocks, N and dry blocks. of Australia’s prison population. Keating’s of the site. He took the design team onto his re-create the headland. ↘

98 / LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE MAGAZINE NOV 2016 LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE MAGAZINE NOV 2016 / 99 LEND LEASE (FORMERLY BAULDERSTONE) (FORMERLY LEASE LEND

100 / LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE MAGAZINE NOV 2016 LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE MAGAZINE NOV 2016 / 101 → Y FIRST VISIT TO THE SITE began early one Saturday during a M morning full of intermittent rain, but this did not faze the many people who jogged, meandered, and even sang their way through the site (thank you, random maria- chi band). I sat perched on one of the sand- stone blocks along the foreshore and watched for hours, fascinated. There were painters and picnickers, clusters of mothers pushing strollers; there was a yoga group perched at the top of the headland in precarious posi- tions, as well as occasional elderly visitors pulling themselves along with a walker or cane. Children accompanying their parents walked anywhere but on the path—most preferred to balance their steps along the meandering 1836 Wall (marking the original coastline of that year), while others darted off and scrambled over the rocks along the water’s edge. The site had been open for two months, and it was obvious how readily the public had embraced it.

I bemusedly watched a boy no older than five brandish a formidable plastic sword with one hand while another straightened his paper pirate’s hat. “No, Dad, you stand down here!”

RIGHT he shouted. The boy was insistent, perched Barangaroo’s foreshore atop a slab of sandstone along the upper edge promenade passes of the foreshore. Hands raised in defeat, a grassy “beach” areas that allow visitors weary-looking father stepped down to the lowest embankment of sandstone until access to the water. ↘ ARCHITECTURE LANDSCAPE PWP

102 / LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE MAGAZINE NOV 2016 LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE MAGAZINE NOV 2016 / 103 HEADLAND FORM STUDY — PREFERRED OPTION HEADLAND PARK — HERITAGE SEAWALL PLAN

BARANGAROO HEADLAND — STONE MODEL A

MODEL A – LOW TIDE

LEFT OPPORTUNITY TO CREATE NOTCHES WHERE DAMAGE FILL IN NOTCHES WITH HALF HEIGHT BLOCKS TO MEET PROPOSED GRADE TO THE EXISTING WALL HAS OCCURRED BEHIND HISTORIC WALL FOR AREAS WHERE HANGING PLANTS MOVE FORWARD Design models AND HISTORIC BLOCKS MOVE BACK INTO THE PLANTING AREA AS SHOWN IN PLAN tested placement of sandstone blocks and their dynamics FINISH GRADE BEYOND with the tide.

NOTCH FOR PLANTING AT GRADE RIGHT NOTCH WIDTH VARIES A three-dimensional EXISTING WALL CONDITION PROPOSED WALL MODIFICATIONS design study of volume and headland geomorphology.

MODEL A – HIGH TIDE HEADLAND PARK — HERITAGE SEAWALL ELEVATION PWP LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE LANDSCAPE PWP ARCHITECTURE LANDSCAPE PWP

104 / LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE MAGAZINE NOV 2016 LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE MAGAZINE NOV 2016 / 105 EAST–WEST HEADLAND SECTION BARANGAROO’S SANDSTONE

The vast array of stonework that defines Barangaroo Reserve was pulled directly from beneath a portion of the site. Its placement involved precision, intuition, and obsessive- ness, as David Walker, FASLA, a partner at PWP Landscape Architecture, explains here.

HE 48,000 CUBIC YARDS of Sydney’s T iconic Hawkesbury Sandstone that cre- ated the new foreshore was excavated from massive slabs and cut with 10-foot-diameter blades to size specifications defined by a 3-D

Revit model. All of the blocks were then bar- coded and GPS located into their specific encouraged Troy to highlight the unique vein foreshore placements. The blocks measure markings and left it up to his discretion. After roughly four feet wide by 16 feet long. hundreds of discussions, we made a formal specification regarding the color variation in the sandstone. As the stones were cut out the grade change leveled his gaze with that of of the ground, they were categorized into → BELOW OPPOSITE his young son, and they faced squarely eye to three color ranges; white, yellow, and red. Troy and I spent days on each of my monthly Some 48,000 cubic More than 10,000 The distribution of these colors was not to al- site visits walking the site at all possible eye; a smile stretched across the father’s face. yards of Sydney’s sandstone blocks were low too many white stones to be placed next hours of the day—sunrise, sunset, nighttime, Delighted, the boy jumped in place with ex- Hawkesbury Sand- cut using 10-foot- to each other—because they stood out the and in rainy weather—to understand how the citement. “You’re Captain Hook!” he squealed. stone was quarried diameter blades, then most—but rather to blend them into the other stone quality was perceived differently de- on site. Extraction and categorized according colors. During the months of installation, we pending on the quality of light. These in-depth placing of the stone to their color. had the opportunity to observe that the col- (bordering on obsessive) observations and Nestled within Darling Harbour, Baranga- took nearly two years. or variation was not important within the tidal discussions on our walks culminated when COURTESY JOHNSON PILTON WALKER, TOP; TOP; WALKER, PILTON JOHNSON COURTESY BOTTOM AUTHORITY, DELIVERY LUND/BARANGAROO HAMILTON LEFT; BOTTOM AND RIGHT TOP ARCHITECTURE, LANDSCAPE PWP roo Reserve is a place of green curves, rock INSET RIGHT TOP AUTHORITY, DELIVERY BARANGAROO zone, where the stones would become dark Troy and I worked with his equipment op- and covered with algae. So, the discussion erators to direct placement of the sandstone outcrops, and tidal pools—a stark contrast of equal color distribution became focused rock outcroppings, which became perhaps to the straight lines and sharp angles of the closer to the foreshore promenade, where it the most challenging effort at the end of the downtown high-rises that hover in the back- would be visible to the majority of people in construction schedule. The rock outcroppings ground. It’s a place where the connection to the park. The stones were cut for specific loca- could not be drawn, and therefore required tions in the plan. Four sides were saw cut, and the two of us to work out the criteria while the water is made tangible through the slabs The quality of the sandstone extracted on the top and the bottom were natural split sur- moving them into place. of sandstone that spill into the harbor rather site exceeds the required strength and is faces. The only discretion left to the equipment than being set at a distance by an elevated embedded with a huge variety of character- operator was which split surface would face Troy and I had gradually developed full aes- istic markings, such as veins of pure iron de- upward and whether to flip the stone direc- thetic control of the stonework for Baran- seawall. This site once had strong industrial posits, prehistoric shells, and other foreign tion. Limiting the aesthetic decisions by the garoo, because it was simply too hard for edges of its own, but most have been careful- stone deposits. This was a welcome sur- equipment operators was important for the anyone else to take responsibility for the ly cloaked through some 83,000 tons of rock prise. When the first excavated blocks were work to proceed quickly. aesthetic outcome over the entire site. It was inspected, we knew right away that we had worked out by trial and error in the field. We set along the shoreline, each slab oriented something unique. After about a year of working with Troy, he corrected our mistakes as we progressed and 20 degrees northeast—the natural geologi- knew our design intentions well, and we allowed ourselves time to reflect and brain- cal fault line of rocks located within Sydney The coloration and unique markings of the could shift our focus to stone selection for the storm about the possible solutions for con- sandstone represent the natural variation that most careful parts of the design: Nawi Cove, structability and superior aesthetic outcomes. Harbour. (Keating says, “When you go there, occurs between veins located on site. These the grand staircases, and the 1836 Wall—the you know it feels right, although you don’t qualities would not have been possible if a sandstone wall that aligns along the edge of The sandstone story at Barangaroo is large quite know why.”) Where the industrial edges commercial supplier simply purchased the what was the shoreline in that year. For the because it follows the sandstone tradition blocks. Commercial suppliers generally re- 1836 Wall, we needed to create a consistent of Sydney. The tradition was passed down remain, they are either highlighted as heri- gard these irregular characteristics of stone color and finish for more than half a mile. to Troy Stratti, whose company—which he tage features or discovered through sideways as undesirable and they discard them—they This is the only stone on the project that started with his father, Sam Stratti—invented glances into the water that reveal the outline are trained to deliver consistency. was acquired off-site, from a single in the saw blades to cut the stone. They have Bundanoon, about an hour south of Sydney. a deep understanding of the extraction and of caissons retained for structural integrity, During the almost two-year process of ex- Even with a large sole source for the stone at fabrication process in Sydney. Troy once said a remnant of maritime days past. tracting and placing the stone, there was Bundanoon, the sheer quantity of stone that to me that he felt he had been preparing an ongoing discussion during each of my had consistent character was enormous and his entire career for the opportunity and chal- construction visits between PWP and the One of Walker’s early observations was began to disappear, and we needed to strat- lenge of Barangaroo Reserve. chief stonemason, Troy Stratti, concerning egize how to complete the last 10 percent the way Sydney residents refused to be the relative distribution of block colors. We with a consistent color and finish. —DAVID WALKER, FASLA denied access to the water. “Everywhere

106 / LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE MAGAZINE NOV 2016 LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE MAGAZINE NOV 2016 / 107 around the harbor where people attempted to fence off the waterfront, everybody just jumps over the fence and they fish. The kids go into the tidal pools. There’s a whole water- front life of the modern Sydneysider,” Walker says. It was obvious that issues of waterfront access and movement around the periphery of the site needed to take priority. But under- standing how to shape and reconstruct a new headland around which to choreograph this activity was another challenge.

Because there were no surveys of the original ABOVE, TOP TO BOTTOM headland, the design team studied historic A 3-D rendering maps and French landscape paintings of the of the foreshore; construction; and area. From these, computer models were gen- final stone placement erated that layered the terrain into different at shoreline. shapes and gradients. Existing rock outcrops

OPPOSITE on the seabed floor were also roughly mapped Construction of the and archaeologists consulted to better under- Cutaway, Barangaroo’s stand the geologic processes that had affected cultural center, which has capacity the headlands over time. Based on this research, for 5,500 people. the shape of the headlands approximately COURTESY JOHNSON PILTON WALKER, ABOVE LEFT; HAMILTON LUND/BARANGAROO DELIVERY AUTHORITY, OPPOSITE AUTHORITY, DELIVERY LUND/BARANGAROO HAMILTON LEFT; ABOVE WALKER, PILTON JOHNSON COURTESY

108 / LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE MAGAZINE NOV 2016 LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE MAGAZINE NOV 2016 / 109 SANDSTONE TERRACE A HYPERLOCAL SOIL RECIPE

The soil formula for Barangaroo Reserve was To answer this question, we did some field designed to support the extensive plantings research in areas of intact sandstone flora to FIGURE 1: THE BARANGAROO ANTHROPOSOL of native vegetation on the site. Simon Leake, look at the natural Kandosol or “yellow earth” the principal soil scientist at SESL Australia, soil characteristic of sandstone country. We O Recycled Wood Mulch which acted as the project’s main soil con- examined the profile and measured the levels sultant, explains how his team developed the of nutrients and general soil chemistry. We A1 50/50 Crushed Sandstone, formula. This narrative originally appeared found strongly acidic pHs of 4.5 to 5.5, astound- Washed Sand, 10-20% Compost on the website of SESL and has been adapted ingly low levels of phosphorus—around 25 A2 50/50 Crushed Sandstone, reflects the 1836 shoreline. This was affirmed and updated. mg/kg of total phosphorus in sandstone rock Washed Sand when an old slipway from the 19th century and around 60 to 80 mg/kg in the “biolayer” HE BARANGAROO HEADLAND PARK or topsoil horizon, some of the lowest levels B2 70/30 Crushed Sandstone was uncovered during construction. landscape was planned to use almost in the world. Calculations showed that only Coir Mesh T Washed Sand 75mm Depth Mulch completely recycled resources to make around 10 percent by volume of green waste suitable for the sensitive Sydney sandstone compost would be required to achieve this. Once the shape of the headland had been de- Segmental Retaining Wall System termined, the next challenge was to construct flora and the public park turf areas. The Topsoil concept was first used at Sydney’s Olympic In a series of pot trials growing a range of C Compacted Fill the steep 60-foot cliffs in a way that made Rear Profile Reduced Parklands, where crushed sandstone, an sandstone flora, we determined that the best to Provide Soil Volume them look like an approximation of nature Subsoil abundant natural recycled resource in Sydney, range was, by volume, 5 percent compost was successfully used to create soil profiles for the very sensitive sandstone heath areas, without taking it to the level of Disneyland. 500mm Min Depth of Soil Required at Base of Wall for bushland regeneration. 10 percent for the eucalyptus and woodland So Walker proposed to Keating that the site areas, and 20 percent for the turf and fig trees as (and this is an advantage of working with the be designed using a naturalistic philosophy. Mass Concrete Footing Building on that experience, our firm of soil in the recreational areas. large construction companies) other sandstone scientists, SESL Australia, came up with a from excavations all over Sydney, carefully “I explained that naturalistic is a term which Topsoil 100mm Below Top of Wall concept design for the completely recon- The compost provides all the nutrients need- screened and tested for compliance with the doesn’t describe nature, but it describes the Top Block to be Filled with Soil Mix Geotextile at Base to Retain Soil structed soils needed for the Headland Park ed, apart from nitrogen. Just 5 percent by specifications. We achieved a level of about 80 nature of nature. You’re not copying nature; Select Fill Material at the early detailed design phase. This original volume of compost is sufficient to establish percent recycled materials in the end—not bad. you’re representing it,” Walker says. “And for (Crushed Sandstone) concept is shown in Figure 1 (above right). a sandstone heath and scrub with no other Drainage Material fertilizers needed. Subsoil needs no organic The work has totally vindicated the extremely a long time Paul would say, ‘Let’s talk about In this concept, the main materials to be used matter and is even lower in nutrients. low nutrient requirements of this unique veg- that again . . . that was interesting.’” Keating Geogrid Network were crushed sandstone originating from etation assemblage. Almost no fertilizer has jokes that Walker was taught naturalism building excavations in Barangaroo South We now had the soil profile concept and had been used since its establishment—a little commercial developments, recycled sand from calibrated and measured how much nutrition urea to overcome nitrogen drawdown, some at university, but in his decades of practice building excavations, recycled green garden each planting needed. All we now had to do potassium to replace losses from heavy rain- never found a client who wanted to use it— waste compost (produced from “green bin” and was finalize the cross sections. An early fall (it’s very soluble), some iron sulphate to until Walker met him. council drop-off garden waste collections), and diagram of the sandstone terrace facsimile acidify the pH, and some manganese on a composted wood mulch screened from green (opposite) illustrates how this was done so couple of the very touchy species. Five per- garden waste collections. contractors tendering on the project could cent compost provides all the nutrients the It was important that the shape of the head- see how it was to be constructed. heath components require. It really stunned land facilitated connections along the water- These commonly available recycled resourc- me and gave me a new respect for this in- front and Hickson Road (the original main es could be used to make the mulch layer or The landscape belowground, or the soil land- credibly tenacious vegetation. It is truly as- “O” (for organic) horizon, analogous to the scape, at Barangaroo was carefully worked tounding, as a soil scientist, to know that road leading to the shipyard), but it also forest litter layer; the topsoil, or A horizon, out to mimic the natural soil profile and thus a complex stratified forest community can needed to be high enough to link back into a well-drained sandy soil containing nutri- support a vegetation type with unique re- develop on a geology (Hawkesbury Sand- the city grid. “The goal was to have a seam- ents, organic matter, and biological life; and quirements for healthy growth. It does so stone) with only 20 to 25 parts per million of the subsoil, or B horizon, a well-drained, by using almost 100 percent recycled ma- phosphorus in it. This would have to be the less connection, so no matter where you en- water-holding layer for root anchorage and terial sourced from in and around Sydney lowest phosphorus parent material on Earth. tered, you would form part of the city at that moisture reserve. from building sites, excavations, sand and elevation,” Walker says. Of particular concern glass recyclers (“glass sand,” made from The research performed by the Baranga- The thing we did not know was how much crushed recycled glass, constituted some of roo Delivery Authority and its contractors was to connect the broken streets of Millers compost and fertilizer to put into the A ho- the sand requirement), and, of course, the resulted in two published scientific papers Point, a residential community whose rug- rizon, or topsoil layer. We knew that Sydney garden and green waste produced by Sydney on the nutrition of native plants, making ged ridgeline and high promontory were sandstone soils were so poor that the early households. the Headland Park very much a “Headland” settlers failed to grow adequate crops at the project—not just producing a beautiful place originally the site of wooden windmills, but original Farm Cove gardens. We also know The concept was installed pretty much as de- and displaying our unique flora, but also were later sheared off during excavation of that if sandstone flora is fertilized or affected signed, although it proved hard to get all the extending the knowledge of how to restore the headland in the late 1800s and replaced by nutrient-laden urban stormwater runoff, it recycled materials needed. In the subsoils, and rebuild a vegetation type that is part of suffers dieback and disease problems. we used recycled crushed glass sand, but in the character of Sydney and its harbor. with terrace houses for workers employed the topsoils we did have to use some quarried at the docks below. For decades, residents in sand. All the crushed sandstone was recycled Simon Leake is managing director and BOTTOM from both the Barangaroo excavations as well principal consultant at SESL Australia. Construction of the town houses here—many of which were the terraced hill. low-income government housing—only

↘ BOTTOM AUTHORITY, DELIVERY LUND/BARANGAROO HAMILTON TOP; OPPOSITE AND TOP AUTHORITY, DELIVERY BARANGAROO AND WALKER PILTON JOHNSON OF PILTON ADRIAN AND ROBILLIARD ADAM

110 / LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE MAGAZINE NOV 2016 LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE MAGAZINE NOV 2016 / 111 PLANTING PLAN — UNDERSTORY

Acacia floribunda (White Sally wattle) Exocarpos cupressiformis (Cypress cherry)

Acacia longifolia (Sallow wattle) Glochidion ferdinandi (Cheese tree)

Grevillea buxifolia (Grey spider flower) Acacia myrtifolia (Red-stemmed wattle) Grevillea linearifolia (Linear-leaf grevillea) Grevillea sericea (Pink spider flower) Acacia terminalis (Sunshine wattle) Hakea dactyloides (Finger hakea) Hakea teretifolia (Needlebush) Acacia ulicifolia (Prickly Moses)

Hibiscus tiliaceus (Cottonwood hibiscus) Acmena smithii (Lilly pilly)

Allocasuarina littoralis (Black she-oak) Isopogon anemonifolius (Broad-leaf drumsticks) Lambertia formosa (Mountain devil) Banksia marginata (Silver banksia) Leptospermum juniperinum (Prickly teatree) Banksia robur (Swamp banksia) Banksia serrata (Old man banksia) Banksia spinulosa (Hairpin banksia) Macrozamia communis (Burrawang) Bauera rubioides (River rose) Boronia ledifolia (Showy boronia) Melaleuca hypericifolia (Hillock bush) Melaleuca nodosa (Prickly-leaved paperbark) Callicoma serratifolia (Black wattle) Notelaea longifolia (Large mock-olive) Olearia tomentosa (Toothed daisy bush) Callistemon linearis (Narrow-leaved bottlebrush)

(Native bleeding heart) Ceratopetalum gummiferum Omalanthus populifolius (New South Wales Christmas bush) Persoonia levis (Broad-leaved geebung) Correa alba (White correa) Correa reflexa (Common correa) Pittosporum spp. (Cheesewood)

Cyathea australis (Rough tree fern) Telopea speciosissima (Waratah)

Dillwynia retorta (Heathy parrot pea) Tristaniopsis laurina (Water gum) Dodonaea triquetra (Large-leaf hop bush)

Doryanthes excelsa (Gymea lily) Westringia fruticosa (Coastal rosemary) Elaeocarpus reticulatus (Blueberry ash) Eriostemon australasius (Pink wax flower) PWP LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE, THIS PAGE AND OPPOSITE AND PAGE THIS ARCHITECTURE, LANDSCAPE PWP

112 / LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE MAGAZINE NOV 2016 LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE MAGAZINE NOV 2016 / 113 SEVENTY-FIVE THOUSAND PLANTS

HE PLANTINGS at Barangaroo Reserve SP: History indicates that the early Europeans T include more than 75,000 native trees who arrived in Sydney included botanists. Jo- and shrubs. Of these plants, there are 84 seph Banks, Daniel Solander, and John White species native to the Sydney Harbour area: discovered and named many new plants that 14 species of trees, palms, and tree ferns; had never been seen before in England. Their 25 native ground covers, vines, grasses, and findings were recorded, resulting in accurate ferns; and 45 species of native shrubs, small records that are still retained today. The Sydney trees, and cycads. The landscape architect Royal Botanic Garden’s ecologists and botanists and horticulturist Stuart Pittendrigh of Norcue have continued research and recording of this led the planting regime for the site, working fine work, which has resulted in many botanical with PWP Landscape Architecture and the reference documents that may be accessed. local firm of Johnson Pilton Walker. LAM: How well do most of those plants Pittendrigh, who specializes in plants native or plant communities survive today? And to the Sydney region, mapped out seven dif- how many of the species are endemic to a ferent vegetation zones on the 14-acre site: very small area around the harbor? Are any ridge top woodland, heath and scrub, open threatened or endangered? dry forest, tall moist forest, damp gully forest, → had a small stairwell leading from the top of With walls extending 60 feet high, the Cut- RIGHT waterfront, and headland. He shared a few SP: Remnants of the original plant discover- the cliff face down 60 feet to the concrete A terrace planting. observations on the process with LAM. (This ies remain in small, undisturbed pockets away is built up around the original cliff face exchange has been edited.) around the harbor foreshore and survive apron of the former shipping dock. Now of the shipping yard, where ventilation open- BELOW naturally despite the city’s changing climate the residences have a stretch of open park- ings in the roof structure allow natural light The bush walk is LAM: You are said to have researched which and environment. A small percentage of land spilling out from their front doors with to spill onto its roughened surface with great defined by a Cor-Ten plants were growing in the area when the these indigenous plantings are classified as First Fleet arrived from England in 1788. How threatened species, but none are considered BRETT BOARDMAN PHOTOGRAPHY, THIS PAGE AND OPPOSITE AND PAGE THIS PHOTOGRAPHY, BOARDMAN BRETT steel wall. LAM: It’s said that you had a list of 31 items magnificent ocean views, increasing not only effect. However, this is where the charm of hard was that to do? Are sources of informa- exclusively endemic to Sydney Harbour and to ensure quality control among the plants. their amenity but also their value: Many have the space ends, as the rest of the interior is tion readily available? its estuarine environments. What are some of the tougher ones to satisfy? marketed with a price of more than $4.5 mil- boxy and clad in enormous swaths of drab SP: Self-supporting, good stem taper, crown lion (AUD). concrete, giving it the feel of (ironically) a symmetry, branch and stem inclusions, root shipping container warehouse rather than a direction, root ball occupancy, and height of The existing harbor headlands had an un- space to host cultural events like the Venice the root crown. derlying base of preexisting stone to support Biennale. There had been an original proposi- LAM: So far you’ve seen a failure rate of the sheer cliffs. Walker’s team did not have tion for the Cutaway by JPW (a study separate about 1 percent of the plants—amazing. The that to work with. They needed to achieve from the work undertaken with PWP) that norm, you say, is more like 10 percent to 15 percent. What will be the biggest mainte- a vertical profile that provided structural put forward a more sculptural and considered nance challenges ahead as the park seasons stability without the benefit of existing geol- proposition toward the shape and function of and settles in? ogy. The solution was to establish a series the Cutaway. But it was a latecomer to the de- of terraces made of hollow precast concrete SP: We will do annual soil testing that will sign brief, and a more conservative approach determine the fertilizing program and the units that were filled with aggregate and tied was taken toward its construction, which quantity and composition of fertilizer to back into the hillside. The units were colored saved on cost, but sacrificed the creation of suit the indigenous vegetation. There will with a sepia finish to help them blend in what could have been one of Australia’s larg- be maintenance and irrigation from on-site retention storage for at least another 12 as the plantings grew and provided greater est and most inspiring interior spaces. months, when consideration will be given coverage. Behind these walls, the intention to allowing the site to rely on natural rainfall had been to backfill using recycled fill from The design of Barangaroo Reserve’s water- events unless there are long or extensive periods of drought. We will control pests nearby development works—approximately front was easily the most time-intensive and disease, which at this stage of plant 490,000 cubic yards’ worth. However, soil part of the headland’s creation. Local Syd- establishment are minimal. We’ll need to contamination issues significantly reduced ney stone yards were initially investigated to repair torn limbs from severe weather events and damage by park users. And there will be the amount of dirt available for creating the provide the sandstone, but that would have removal of invasive weed species. mass of the headland. What resulted was the required carving by highly pressurized water creation of the Cutaway, a 21,500-square-yard jets to give the stones the desired naturalistic ABOVE void within the belly of the headland to serve appearance. However, a fortuitous discovery Grasses are among the native plants as Sydney’s largest function space and future was made when sandstone was found be- used at Barangaroo. cultural center. neath the Barangaroo site, and plenty of it.

114 / LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE MAGAZINE NOV 2016 LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE MAGAZINE NOV 2016 / 115 BARANGAROO RESERVE — “CUTAWAY” REVEALED

BELOW The entire existing cliff face forms the eastern wall of the Cutaway.

Over the span of one year, 10,000 blocks about four feet wide and up to 16 feet long were strategically hewn from beneath the space of the Cutaway with the extraction pit laid out in the shape of the site’s required parking garage. Because of Sydney Har- bour’s geological fault line of 20 degrees northeast, the sandstone harvested from the site sheared naturally when hewn from this angle, providing a naturalistic rock face. No jet-spraying of the rocks would be needed.

Each of the extracted sandstone blocks was labeled, sized, and bar-coded to identify where it should go in the foreshore. This data was entered into a custom-made 12-D computer modeling program that mapped out the waterfront and ensured each indi- vidual block could be slotted into place like a giant 3-D puzzle, while also certifying that fall heights and joint widths met Australian safe- ty standards. Initially, the blocks were limited to 75 different sizes, but this number was increased to more than 200 as it afforded PWP LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE, OPPOSITE; BARANGAROO DELIVERY AUTHORITY, RIGHT AUTHORITY, DELIVERY BARANGAROO OPPOSITE; ARCHITECTURE, LANDSCAPE PWP ↘

116 / LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE MAGAZINE NOV 2016 LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE MAGAZINE NOV 2016 / 117 BARANGAROO RESERVE — SECTION

RIGHT The cliff face reveals openings that allow daylight into the cavernous space of the Cutaway.

OPPOSITE Art installations are among the events PWP LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE, TOP; BRETT BOARDMAN PHOTOGRAPHY, BOTTOM PHOTOGRAPHY, BOARDMAN BRETT TOP; ARCHITECTURE, LANDSCAPE PWP held in the Cutaway. BOTTOM AUTHORITY, DELIVERY LUND/BARANGAROO HAMILTON TOP; ARCHITECTURE, LANDSCAPE PWP

118 / LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE MAGAZINE NOV 2016 LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE MAGAZINE NOV 2016 / 119 BARANGAROOBARANGAROO –— STAIR SLOPE ELEVATIONS??? STABILIZATION SECTION TYPICAL BUSH WALK SECTION

BELOW Small staircases connect different levels of the bush landscape. PWP LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE LANDSCAPE PWP PWP LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE , TOP; RICK STEVENS/BARANGAROO DELIVERY AUTHORITY, BOTTOM AUTHORITY, DELIVERY STEVENS/BARANGAROO RICK TOP; , ARCHITECTURE LANDSCAPE PWP

120 / LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE MAGAZINE NOV 2016 LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE MAGAZINE NOV 2016 / 121 HEADLAND PARK — CAFÉ STAIRS SECTION 5 HEADLAND PARK — CAFÉ STAIRS SECTION KEY PLAN

BUSH LEVEL OR RESTAURANT ENTRANCE ELEVATION

RIGHT A glass elevator and sandstone staircase define the café terrace at the bush walk entrance. PWP LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE, TOP LEFT AND OPPOSITE; BRETT BOARDMAN PHOTOGRAPHY, BOTTOM RIGHT BOTTOM PHOTOGRAPHY, BOARDMAN BRETT OPPOSITE; AND LEFT TOP ARCHITECTURE, LANDSCAPE PWP

122 / LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE MAGAZINE NOV 2016 LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE MAGAZINE NOV 2016 / 123 → more flexibility in the foreshore design. Each was set upon a bed of gravel and basalt de- signed to accommodate tidal movement.

The design team faced a lot of unknowns when it came to the construction of the wa- terfront. “We asked a lot of bold questions and kept getting bolder answers in response,” Walker says. Troy Stratti, a Sydney sandstone extraction expert, was brought onto the proj- ect team to provide guidance on how to best use the extracted sandstone. The discussions between the design team and Stratti were like a tennis match that played along through the development of mock-ups for building the waterfront. Eventually, Stratti developed a 1:20 scale prototype to test the foreshore design and created unique tools for handling the 11- to 13- ton blocks that allowed each one to be placed ABOVE in close proximity to another. The variation in The Barangaroo color and markings between the individual Reserve foreshore stones required an intensive amount of time and promenade trace the location of and coordination between PWP and Stratti the site’s original to determine the best way to distribute the 1836 shoreline. sandstone blocks across the site. OPPOSITE Cor-Ten steel and While establishing the terraces and rocky sandstone detail. foreshore was critical to the headland design,

BARANGAROO DELIVERY AUTHORITY, OPPOSITE; BRETT BOARDMAN PHOTOGRAPHY, TOP RIGHT TOP PHOTOGRAPHY, BOARDMAN BRETT OPPOSITE; AUTHORITY, DELIVERY BARANGAROO so was the need to incorporate a planting

124 / LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE MAGAZINE NOV 2016 LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE MAGAZINE NOV 2016 / 125 strategy to shroud the headland with vegeta- Pittendrigh met me on site early on a Mon- tion using a 200-year-old planting palette. day morning after what had been a blazing There was also heavy pressure to deliver a weekend, with temperatures soaring over 100 landscape that provided instant impact, par- degrees Fahrenheit. He had been informed ticularly when it came to hiding the concrete that a marine vessel had sprayed saltwater terraces. An earlier headland park initially toward the northwest corner of the site in an championed by Keating, Ballast Point Park, effort to cool off visitors over the weekend; he had been established using tubestock, result- wasn’t happy about it. “The water saturated ABOVE ing in a stark landscape during the park’s all my plants,” he lamented. “Apparently the The foreshore promenade path winds early years, which drew attention to the hard staff has been washing down the furniture between the sandstone lines and extensive walls used throughout the and light poles, getting all the salt off.” When shoreline and bush site. The park still draws Keating’s ire. “It’s an we made our way to the affected area, many of landscapes on the hill. archie park, done by an architect . . . terrible, the Hardenbergia vines were already browning OPPOSITE TOP all hard concrete design,” has been his most off. “I’ll have to speak to the BDA [Barangaroo Barangaroo’s frequent critique. To avoid a similar outcome, Delivery Authority] about this,” Pittendrigh western lawn. Stuart Pittendrigh, a landscape architect and said, his brow furrowed. OPPOSITE BOTTOM horticultural consultant who specializes in The larger staircases Sydney’s native botanic species, joined the As the lead horticultural consultant on the are flanked by sandstone blocks. design team in 2010 to help build the bush. project, Pittendrigh has been deeply involved PWP LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE LANDSCAPE PWP PHOTOGRAPHY BOARDMAN BRETT

126 / LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE MAGAZINE NOV 2016 LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE MAGAZINE NOV 2016 / 127 OPPOSITE Tiers of bush plantings flag a large staircase that leads to the water’s edge.

in the sourcing, design, production, and in- stallation of plants across the site, but more in the capacity of watching over the works rather than superintending the job. Since Barangaroo’s completion, he has been com- missioned to monitor the park over the next two years, spending time twice a month to observe maintenance contractors, address concerns, and report back to the BDA. After practicing for 47 years, it’s the first time he’s been tasked with undertaking such follow-up work on a project.

Walking through the site, Pittendrigh ges- tured to a cluster of grevilleas that were flow- ing over the rock walls and onto the rim of the paths. “Maintenance wanted to shear them off initially, said they were trip hazards,” he said, his eyes sparking. “I gave them a piece of my mind.” Farther along, he pointed out a fig that’s more compact and squatty in shape. “You can tell that one was container grown from birth,” he commented, then paused by some of the larger fig trees at the water’s edge, their sprawling habit an indicator the trees were transplants from another site. To maxi- mize visual impact by the opening date, 16 mature fig trees from southern Queensland and 89 cabbage palms had been relocated into the park. As a way to avoid breakage of the branches, particularly during transport, the trees were deprived of water for a few days before transport, which allowed the leaves to wilt and made them more flexible. The trees were then heavily soaked once planted as a way to help them recover. RICK STEVENS/BARANGAROO DELIVERY AUTHORITY DELIVERY STEVENS/BARANGAROO RICK

128 / LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE MAGAZINE NOV 2016 LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE MAGAZINE NOV 2016 / 129 Plant losses at the site have been minimal, with just 1 percent of the plants failing—a success rate Pittendrigh is incredibly proud of. (“Not bad out of nearly 76,000 plants,” he says). Out of the 84 species integrated into the site, only five weren’t indigenous to Sydney Harbour. A total of seven plant communities were planted according to their edaphic position in the landscape with re- gard to topography, aspect, environment, and moisture requirements. The subtle varia- tions of these plant communities are notice- able when walking through the site, from the rich undergrowth nestled within the steep terrain of the damp southeast slopes of the gully forest to the smaller, more spin- ABOVE dly plants enduring the windy and exposed A sandstone block conditions of the ridgetop woodland 60 feet foreshore replaced the old concrete caissons. above at the promontory.

RIGHT Although the site had been open for only Nawi Cove, at the southern edge of three months, the vegetation was thriving

Barangaroo Reserve. thanks in part to the careful attention to PHOTOGRAPHY BOARDMAN BRETT

130 / LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE MAGAZINE NOV 2016 LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE MAGAZINE NOV 2016 / 131 the soil substrate of the plantings. As a way In addition to careful soil planning, Pitten- to overcome common interface problems drigh also took great effort in establishing (“plant shock”), great effort was made to the trees by developing them with a very grow the nursery plants in the same soil shallow—but broad—root plate. Some of the as was present on the site. A soil scientist, planting containers were eight to 10 feet in Simon Leake, developed a mix that sim- diameter, with root tips at a maximum depth ulated the weathered Hawkesbury Sand- of 18 to 32 inches. The technique has been ABOVE stone soils commonly found in Sydney by highly successful, as the root plate allowed A view of Nawi Cove from the top of taking the waste sandstone from the site the trees to establish quickly and withstand a staircase. excavations and crushing it into a fine ag- gale-force winds off the ocean. Pittendrigh gregate. Added to this was glass from re- prides himself on an encounter he had with OPPOSITE TOP At the park’s northern cycled bottles, with fragments reduced to the two engineers visiting the site who were entrance, the 1836 size of a match head to add silica content. astounded to learn that the trees didn’t have Wall marks the site’s Organic material and nutrients were limited any additional anchoring keeping them rigid; original shoreline from that year. to between 4 percent and 10 percent of the so far, there haven’t been any blow downs. mixture, while phosphorus was excluded OPPOSITE BOTTOM completely, as Australian plants tend to Toward the end of our walk, Pittendrigh Nawi Cove provides space for waterside resent it, and Leake figured it would build up meandered down to a fig tree close to the events. naturally over time. water’s edge where a main branch dangled BRETT BOARDMAN PHOTOGRAPHY BOARDMAN BRETT ARCHITECTURE LANDSCAPE PWP

132 / LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE MAGAZINE NOV 2016 LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE MAGAZINE NOV 2016 / 133 unnaturally at a sharp angle. “This is the “The most important thing you have to do,” first tree we planted,” he mentioned while he says, “is make it good enough so people gingerly inspecting a break halfway down love it.” Based on the constant use of the the limb. “Every time I come here, there’s headland so far, the park is doing its job. It’s another badly damaged branch. Kids play on a place where visitors can take cultural tours it—a crying shame.” Looking at the surface to explore the site’s Aboriginal history. It’s around his feet, he noticed some tendrils of where Sydneysiders can go to stretch their green emerging. “Ground covers—like an legs, touch the tides, and taste the salt air. edible spinach. Dies out in winter.” I couldn’t And, perhaps most important, it’s where a help but smile. Keating may have been the weary father can take his young son to play champion of Barangaroo’s headland, but Pit- pirates by the water—and be awakened by tendrigh was certainly its protector. the vision it reveals.

GWENETH LEIGH, ASLA, IS A LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT AND FREE- LANCE WRITER BASED IN CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA. CONTACT HER OME WITHIN THE AUSTRALIAN AT [email protected]. design community are still uncon- Project Credits vinced that a design that discarded S CLIENT BARANGAROO DELIVERY AUTHORITY, SYDNEY. LEAD the site’s industrial heritage was the best DESIGNER PWP LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE, BERKELEY, CALI- FORNIA. LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT OF RECORD JOHNSON PILTON possible outcome. But the success of Baran- WALKER, SYDNEY. ARCHITECT WMK ARCHITECTURE, SYDNEY. AC- garoo Reserve is a testament to the talent CESSIBILITY CONSULTANT MORRIS GODING, SYDNEY.ARBORIST and dedication of its many midwives—and AND HORTICULTURIST NORCUE, SYDNEY. CHIEF STONEMASON AND QUARRY OPERATIONS MANAGER TROY STRATTI, SYDNEY. a budget in excess of $250 million (AUD). CIVIL AND STRUCTURAL ENGINEERS ROBERT BIRD GROUP, And without a Keating counterpart to drive SYDNEY, AND AURECON, SYDNEY. CONSTRUCTION MANAGER AD- VISIAN, SYDNEY. GENERAL CONTRACTOR BAULDERSTONE (NOW an alternative option, movements against the LEND LEASE), SYDNEY. GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEER DOUGLAS headland design failed to gain traction. “The PARTNERS, SYDNEY. GRAPHICS, SIGNAGE, AND WAYFINDING aspirations of the designers are important,” DESIGNER EMERY STUDIO, , VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA. HISTORIC INTERPRETATION CONSULTANT JUDITH RINTOUL, Pittendrigh says, “but the main function of a SYDNEY. HISTORY AND ARTS CONSULTANT PETER EMMETT, SYD- park is to meet people’s needs, and this place NEY. HYDRAULIC ENGINEER WARREN SMITH & PARTNERS, SYDNEY. LANDSCAPE CONSTRUCTION OBSERVATION MANAGER does that. People feel relaxed in this space; no TRACT CONSULTANTS, NORTH SYDNEY. LANDSCAPE CONTRAC- one’s in a hurry, and they’re strolling around TOR REGAL INNOVATIONS, ANNANGROVE, NEW SOUTH WALES, OPPOSITE and taking it in.” AUSTRALIA. LIGHTING ENGINEER WEBB AUSTRALIA GROUP, Barangaroo’s SYDNEY. MARINE ENGINEER HYDER CONSULTING (NOW ARCADIS sandstone joins NV), NORTH SYDNEY. PLANT PROCUREMENT NURSERY AN- the harbor to the For Walker, the success of a project is like DREASENS GREEN, MANGROVE MOUNTAIN, NEW SOUTH WALES, shoreline—and the a work of art, where the idea needs to catch AUSTRALIA. SOIL SCIENTIST SESL AUSTRALIA, THORNLEIGH, site’s preindustrial NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIA. TRANSPORTATION ENGINEER past to the present. people’s attention—and their imagination. HALCROW, SYDNEY. BRETT BOARDMAN PHOTOGRAPHY, OPPOSITE PHOTOGRAPHY, BOARDMAN BRETT

134 / LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE MAGAZINE NOV 2016 LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE MAGAZINE NOV 2016 / 135