Architects seeth over East Darling Harbour

Things are not going well for the architects (Philip Thalis, Paul Berkemeier and Jane Irwin) who won the East Darling Harbour / Barangaroo competition 3 years ago, beating a hundred and something other entries . They complain of being sidelined as the government has sought to increase office space on the site by a third (it has already been increased once), and allow a single developer to take control. Philip Thalis:

The public interest in Sydney is at risk of being stolen by private and commercial interests. I don’t have a problem with density but I do have a problem when it’s at the cost of the public domain. We are the citizens. We own the streets. This will be thrown out the window for a 10-year fashion for big, monolithic buildings.

The Hill Thalis website says that submissions regarding the proposed modification close on the 15th August. Back to Philip:

The proposed modifications to the Concept Plan labour the purported pursuit of ‘design excellence’, a hollow claim while they actually dismantle the outcomes of the international design competition, the only real design excellence process yet attempted for the site. Barangaroo is a once in a century opportunity to get this new waterfront right. Surely Sydney deserves better than the current processes?

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Posted by Peter on 06.08.08 in urban planning