Watermans Cove designed by Grant Associates opens in Barangaroo, Sydney

Watermans Cove

A new harbour cove and boardwalk designed by landscape architect Grant Associates has opened to the public in Barangaroo in Sydney’s new business district.

Watermans Cove features a crescent shaped cantilevered waterfront walkway to allow people to get close to, and enjoy, the water, creating an entirely new public space on the city’s foreshore. 

“Watermans Cove is a completely new public space and with steps down towards the water, it’s an incredible place for residents, workers and tourists to relax and take in the sights of our beautiful city.”

Premier of New South Wales, Gladys Berejiklian
Watermans Cove

The fully-accessible, amphitheatre-style boardwalk extends out to create a new public pier. Huge sandstone blocks provide informal seating areas and native species trees create a shady backdrop to the open waterfront. A feature Fig tree has been planted on part of the original dockside structure.

Watermans Cove

Watermans Cove is a key feature of Grant Associates’ designs for two hectares of public realm at Barangaroo South – a 7.5 hectare, mixed-use scheme being developed and delivered by global urban regeneration specialist Lendlease. The scheme aims to revitalise this central part of Sydney’s foreshore, formerly a terminal for containers, into a world-class, vibrant waterfront precinct. The public realm also provides the waterfront setting to the dramatic Crown Resorts leisure complex designed by Wilkinson Eyre Architects.

Watermans Cove

The walkway at Watermans Cove represents a significant step forward of a plan led by the Government of New South Wales to create a continuous walk around Sydney’s harbour foreshore. This section of waterfront has been inaccessible to the public for over 100 years because of its industrial use.

Watermans Cove

Another key element of Grant Associates’ designs for Barangaroo South is a one-hectare public park called Hickson Park, which is due to open in December 2020. This park will provide a green link from Sydney’s Central Business District into the heart of Barangaroo’s retail and dining precinct, which is adjacent to the slender new residential towers designed by the acclaimed architect Renzo Piano.

Watermans Cove

“Our aim for Watermans Cove was to create a memorable and distinctive new public space right on the water’s edge that took full advantage of its beautiful Sydney Harbour backdrop. We hope people will enjoy the boardwalk’s closeness to the water, and savour its views, especially to watch the sunset. It has been a wonderful process to return this unique space back to people after being out of bounds for so many years.”   

Andrew Grant, director at Grant Associates

Images Credit: Lendlease and Infrastructure New South Wales (INSW)

Design: Grant Associates

About Damian Holmes 3444 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/