2010 AILA Australian Medal for Landscape Architecture

Paddington Reservoir Gardens by JMD Design, Tonkin Zulaikha Greer Architects and City of Sydney

Client: City of Sydney

Jury comment

One of Sydney’s newest public spaces, the Paddington Reservoir Gardens, situated on Oxford Street in the heart of urban Sydney, is quickly gaining national and international recognition for its unique blend of historic ruin and contemporary urban park design. The site has evolved over a period of 140 years, hosting a number of disparate uses, including twenty years as a water supply reservoir, the original use, through to council depot and workshop, petrol station and more recently a simple grassed public park. With the collapse of the roof structure in 1991, the site was closed to public access. The decision not to simply cap off the site and make another grassed lawn triggered an opportunity to explore the possibilities of revealing and working with the ruins. The result is this engaging, multi-layered urban space that allows visitors to move through and among the spaces and be immersed in the heritage of the reservoir.

The jury admired the rich interplay of elements – built and natural – that express and interpret the site’s diverse heritage, conserving it for contemporary use and for use by future generations. The success of the project clearly results from a close, collaborative and integrated design process between JMD Design and architects Tonkin Zulaikha Greer, working with the City of Sydney. From a landscape architecture perspective, the jury appreciated the sensitively selected material palette for structural elements and the clarity of the three planting zones of the gardens: ranging from the rooftop garden to the two “rooms” of the sunken garden and the street-level edge that connects to the Paddington urban precinct.

This is clearly an exceptional and superbly realized project of outstanding merit. The jury was unanimous in awarding it the Medal for Landscape Architecture for 2010.

Source

News

Published online: 8 Apr 2016
Images: Brett Boardman

Issue

Landscape Architecture Australia, November 2010

Related topics

More news

See all
Through The Looking Glass by Stem Landscape Architecture and Design and ID Landscaping Melbourne Flower and Garden Show reveals garden competition winners

The 2024 Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show has revealed the winners of its annual garden design competition.

George Street, Sydney by City of Sydney Winners revealed: 2024 Australian Urban Design Awards

Eleven projects were recognized in this year’s program, including four winners.

The winning design for Western Sydney University's Indigenous Centre of Excellence by Sarah Lynn Rees, Jackson Clements Burrows, Peter Stutchbury Architecture, Jane Irwin Landscape Architecture, Uncle Dean Kelly, Hill Thalis Architecture and Flux Consultant. Winning design unveiled for WSU Indigenous Centre of Excellence

Western Sydney University’s Indigenous Centre of Excellence will be a community-focused facility that will integrated Indigenous knowledge into its design.

Darwin CBD. Darwin's Smith Street to get greener and more 'vibrant'

The City of Darwin has announced plans to revamp Smith Street in Darwin’s CBD, aiming to create a greener and more dynamic pedestrian hub.

Most read

Latest on site