Headland Park | Sydney Australia | Johnson Pilton Walker & Peter Walker Partners

Headland Park | Sydney Australia | Johnson Pilton Walker & Peter Walker Partners

The Headland Park will be a grand harbour park for Sydney linked by a continuous waterfront promenade stretching from Woolloomooloo to the Anzac Bridge. The Park will consist of six hectares of waterfront parkland at Millers Point and will be an exciting addition for residents and visitors to Sydney.

In October 2009, the government launched an international search for a team to design the Headland Park and urban waterfront at Barangaroo. The winning design team of Johnson Pilton Walker, in association with Peter Walker and Partners Landscape Architecture continues to work with the Authority.

Watch the recent presentation about Headland Park by Peter Walker in Sydney filmed on 21 Febraury 2012 after the jump

PWalker Barangaroo Sydney Presentation from PWP Landscape Architecture on Vimeo.

The Headland Park will be a grand harbour park for Sydney linked by a continuous waterfront promenade stretching from Woolloomooloo to the Anzac Bridge. The Park will consist of six hectares of waterfront parkland at Millers Point and will be an exciting addition for residents and visitors to Sydney.

Headland Park | Sydney Australia | Johnson Pilton Walker & Peter Walker Partners
Once complete, the Headland Park and foreshore will feature expansive views as well as bush walks, picnic areas, walking paths and tidal pools. The design of the new park has been inspired by the original headland that existed in the same site in 1836. The design emphasises the integral role of the harbour in the identity of the city, its residents and visitors.

Headland Park | Sydney Australia | Johnson Pilton Walker & Peter Walker Partners

The Vision
To reflect the rugged sandstone topography of Sydney Harbour and include plantings of large Port Jackson figs and native trees
On the gently sloping northern and upper slope the Park will feature trees similar to those at Mrs Macquarie’s Chair. They will include:

  • Fig species, for example, Port Jackson Fig (Ficus rubiginosa) and Eucalypt species.

These areas will be completely accessible and an ideal location for picnics and informal recreation.

On the steeper western and southern slopes it is proposed to use Sydney sandstone complex species
such as:

  • Eucalyptus pilularis, Angophora costata, Eucalyptus piperita, Corymbia gummifera,

These areas would be quite densely planted with native grasses and shrubs and generally only accessible via paths.

The Headland Park will be created from materials excavated from elsewhere on site. All material reused in the park must be remediated, if necessary, and meet the stringent requirements of the Environment Protection Authority.

Headland Park | Sydney Australia | Johnson Pilton Walker & Peter Walker Partners

Cultural Space at Headland Park
Extensive community consultation carried out by Barangaroo identified a need for a major new cultural facility at Headland Park. Ideas have included an indigenous cultural centre, performing areas, artist studios, galleries, education and learning facilities. During 2012, the Authority will be conducting community consultation to determine the future uses.

“Barangaroo is a unique setting in Sydney and an unprecedented opportunity to reclaim the industrial waterfront, reinterpreting the historic 1836 form as an exemplary park for the 21st century. The Headland Park design will repair one of the greatest blights of the Sydney Harbour, creating a place that is as dignified and timeless as the Royal Botanic Gardens and Mrs. Macquarie’s Chair. It will be a park based on the historic outline and form, yet will be a modern interpretation, designed with state of the art sustainability and up to date building practices. The Headland Park design will be completely complimentary to the Barangaroo South development, and yet it will recycle materials from the building excavation creating the Headland – a very sustainable relationship. There are not many projects in the world that aspire to such a high set of goals.”  Peter Walker – PWP Landscape Architecture

Headland Park | Sydney Australia | Johnson Pilton Walker & Peter Walker Partners

IMAGES: Courtesy of Barangaroo Delivery Authority

About Damian Holmes 3246 Articles
Damian Holmes is the Founder and Editor of World Landscape Architecture (WLA). He is a registered landscape architect (AILA) working in international design practice in Australia. Damian founded WLA in 2007 to provide a website for landscape architects written by landscape architects. Connect on Linkedin at https://www.linkedin.com/in/damianholmes/