Sydney is the latest city to begin construction on an elevated park; theirs will be built on a 500-meter stretch of abandoned railway. The park, called the Goods Line, will include bike paths, study pods, and outdoor workspaces for local students.
The two-stage construction process begins with the 250-meter Goods Line North, where the Powerhouse Museum will be connected to Frank Gehry's Chau Chak Wing Building (an addition to the University of Technology). The opening of the latter building is set to coincide with the opening of the Goods Line North.
After the completion of this phase, projected for November 2014, the second stage will reshape an extant pedestrian walkway.
The construction contract has been awarded to Gartner Rose. The Goods Line was designed by ASPECT Studios and Choi Ropiha Fighera.
More about the project from the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority:
• Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority is leading this whole-of-government project which will open up a pedestrian and cycle network from Railway Square through Ultimo to Darling Harbour.
• The Goods Line will create a new urban hub and connect more than 80,000 tertiary students, locals and visitors to the many major attractions of Sydney’s much-loved Darling Harbour.
• The corridor will feature a series of elevated spaces or platforms which can be used for a variety of public entertainment, recreation, study and other activities.
• It will further connect arts, education and cultural institutions along Sydney’s Cultural Ribbon.
• The design captures and interprets the original heritage corridor, state significant rail underbridge and signal box.
• It will be a great new public space for pop-up events, invigorating and bringing new activity into the precinct.
• The Goods Line North is the upcoming stage of a larger project. The next stage will be to redesign The Goods Line South, which runs from Ultimo Road underbridge through to Railway Square. In total, the northern and southern sections will be approximately 500 metres long.
• Transport for NSW is conducting a feasibility study on a further extension of The Goods Line through to Mortuary Station and Redfern.
The Goods Line North is meant to bring new activity into the area, as imagined below.
This rendering is the concept of the Goods Line South, which will be constructed after the northern section.
Check out the video released by the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority, which is leading the project.
Related Stories
| Mar 16, 2011
AIA offers assistance to Japan's Architects, U.S. agencies coordinating disaster relief
“Our hearts go out to the people of Japan as a result of this horrific earthquake and tsunami,” said Clark Manus, FAIA, 2011 President of the AIA. “We are in contact with our colleagues at AIA Japan and the Japan Institute of Architects to offer not only our condolences but our profession's technical and professional expertise when the initiative begins focusing on rebuilding."
| Mar 16, 2011
Are you working on a fantastic residence hall project? Want to tell us about it?
The feature story for the May 2011 issue of Building Design+Construction will focus on new trends in university residence hall design and construction, and we’re looking for great projects to report on and experts to interview. Projects can involve new construction or remodeling/reconstruction work, and can be recently completed, currently under construction, or still on the boards.
| Mar 16, 2011
Foster + Partners to design carbon-neutral urban park for West Kowloon Cultural District in Hong Kong
Foster + Partners has been selected by the board of the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority to design a massive 56-acre urban park on a reclaimed harbor-front site in Hong Kong. Designed as a carbon-neutral development, “City Park” will seamlessly blend into existing streets while creating large expanses of green space and seventeen new cultural venues.
| Mar 15, 2011
What Starbucks taught us about redesigning college campuses
Equating education with a cup of coffee might seem like a stretch, but your choice of college, much like your choice of coffee, says something about the ability of a brand to transform your day. When Perkins + Will was offered the chance to help re-think the learning spaces of Miami Dade College, we started by thinking about how our choice of morning coffee has changed over the years, and how we could apply those lessons to education.
| Mar 15, 2011
What will the architecture profession look like in 2025?
The global economy and the economic recession have greatly affected architecture firms' business practices. A Building Futures survey from the Royal Institute of British Architects looks at how these factors will have transformed the profession and offers a glimpse of future trends. Among the survey's suggestions: not only will architecture firms have to focus on a financial and business approach rather than predominantly design-led offices, but also company names are predicted to drop ‘architect’ altogether.
| Mar 15, 2011
Passive Strategies for Building Healthy Schools, An AIA/CES Discovery Course
With the downturn in the economy and the crash in residential property values, school districts across the country that depend primarily on property tax revenue are struggling to make ends meet, while fulfilling the demand for classrooms and other facilities.
| Mar 14, 2011
Renowned sustainable architect Charles D. Knight to lead Cannon Design’s Phoenix office
Cannon Design is pleased to announce that Charles D. Knight, AIA, CID, LEED AP, has joined the firm as principal. Knight will serve as the leader of the Phoenix office with a focus on advancing the firm’s healthcare practice. Knight brings over 25 years of experience and is an internationally recognized architect who has won numerous awards for his unique contributions to the sustainable and humanistic design of healthcare facilities.
| Mar 11, 2011
University of Oregon scores with new $227 million basketball arena
The University of Oregon’s Matthew Knight Arena opened January 13 with a men’s basketball game against USC where the Ducks beat the Trojans, 68-62. The $227 million arena, which replaces the school’s 84-year-old McArthur Court, has a seating bowl pitched at 36 degrees to replicate the close-to-the-action feel of the smaller arena it replaced, although this new one accommodates 12,364 fans.
| Mar 11, 2011
Temporary modular building at Harvard targets sustainability
Anderson Anderson Architecture of San Francisco designed the Harvard Yard childcare facility, a modular building manufactured by Triumph Modular of Littleton, Mass., that was installed at Harvard University. The 5,700-sf facility will remain on the university’s Cambridge, Mass., campus for 18 months while the Harvard Yard Child Care Center and the Oxford Street Daycare Coop are being renovated.
| Mar 11, 2011
Holiday Inn reworked for Downtown Disney Resort
The Orlando, Fla., office of VOA Associates completed a comprehensive interior and exterior renovation of the 14-story Holiday Inn in the Downtown Disney Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. The $25 million project involved rehabbing the hotel’s 332 guest rooms, atrium, swimming pool, restaurant, fitness center, and administrative spaces.