Wednesday, July 18, 2012

2012 City talks

Vision for the 21st century city.  Keynote talk delivered by TED.com founder and curator Chris Anderson at the City of Sydney 2012 City Talks.
Click here to watch 

Poverty and Plenty: Exploring ideas for a more equitable and sustainable world by Lord Mayor Clover Moore MP.
Click here to watch

Reference: In The Field: TED's Chris Anderson, Radio national, July 11, 2012
 
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Design Competition for a Library of the Future

As a part of the Green Square project, to transform a 278 hectares area south of Sydney, the city has announced a design competition for a $25 million library of the future. The Library will need to engage the public in new ways as it moves away from traditional books and towards technology.

"City of Sydney projects are world renowned for design excellence, innovation and environmental sustainability. We hope architects from around Sydney, Australia and the world will be inspired to work with the City of Sydney and the local community on our new Green Square project."

You can find more information here:



Reference and Photo Credit: Prince, Madeline, Competition open to design a $25 million library in Green Square, Sydney, Architecture and Design, July 10, 2012
 
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Global Identity through Competition Winning Architectural Projects


Sydney has a long history of building great architecture through design competitions.  Sydney will soon see four new competition winning apartment buildings built, under its Design Excellence Program. These projects are as follows: 55 story Goldfields House at Circular Quay, 15 story tower on Pitt Street, 22-story Stamford on Macquarie and the Harbour Mill at the Quay.

All the projects had rival designs drawn up by architects under the City of Sydney's Design Excellence Program, which requires developers of buildings more than 1500 square meters or 55 meters high to host a competition before making a final selection.”



Reference and Photo Credit: Wellings, Susan, The transformation of Sydney's skyline, Sydney Morning Herald , July 14, 2012
 
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Using Landforms to Create a Playground


A new playground in Sydney makes an extensive use of landform to create a variety of play experiences.

Nestled into dramatic cuts in the landform are tunnel slides, embankment slides, a climbing net, flying fox, sand pit, and a waterplay disc that houses 170 jets.”

Reference and Photo Credit: Blaxland Riverside Park by JMD Design, July 9, 2012
 
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Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Improving Connectivity in Sydney Olympic Park

Sydney Olympic Park’s street network was enhanced with the help of a historic street which dates back to the days of the State Abattoir. “It follows the exact alignment of an original street, Barnes Road, one of the streets used in the former NSW State Abattoir, which occupied this site from 1861 to 1988.”

This improvement is a part of the Sydney Olympic Park Master Plan 2030, which sees this suburb as a vibrant and active town center within the Sydney metropolitan area.

Reference:   A historic street improves connectivity in Sydney Olympic Park, Discover Sydney Olympic Park, June 1, 2012




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Sydney’s Light Rail System


A feasibility plan is being developed for a light rail system for three specific corridors:

1. Sydney CBD
2. CBD to the University of NSW
3. CBD to the University of Sydney.

A shortlist of 11 route options has been made as shown in the map above.  “The project team is currently assessing each of the 11 short listed route options. This will allow comparison of options with respect to customer benefits, expected patronage, costs and impacts. This comparison will provide the basis for the selection of a preferred light rail (or other mass-transit) network and staging approach.”

Reference:  Sydney’s Light Rail Strategic Plan, Transport for NSW, NSW Government, June 19, 2012
 
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Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Development Dilemma for the Historic Craighouse Campus


Edinburgh Napier University’s 60-acre Craighouse campus could be converted to a housing development. The developer is proposing to build 116 new homes in the open grounds and additional 66 units inside the existing listed buildings. The developer team includes the University and two private developers. The developers claim that the plan will not be financially viable without the construction of new homes.

The new Labor-SNP coalition wants to preserve the green space, and direct new developments to “brownfield” sites. A local community group argues that the proposed development on protected green space should not be allowed. “We have seen some of the most beautiful parts of the site threatened by four story new-build.”

Reference: Ferguson, Brian, University to earn £1.5m from sale of historic campus for housing, sportsman.com/news/education, May 14, 2012 Photo Credit: M J Richardson. Licensed for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 license. 
 
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