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
| Nov 3, 2010
Public works complex gets eco-friendly addition
The renovation and expansion of the public works operations facility in Wilmette, Ill., including a 5,000-sf addition that houses administrative and engineering offices, locker rooms, and a lunch room/meeting room, is seeking LEED Gold certification.
| Nov 3, 2010
Sailing center sets course for energy efficiency, sustainability
The Milwaukee (Wis.) Community Sailing Center’s new facility on Lake Michigan counts a geothermal heating and cooling system among its sustainable features. The facility was designed for the nonprofit instructional sailing organization with energy efficiency and low operating costs in mind.
| Nov 3, 2010
Seattle University’s expanded library trying for LEED Gold
Pfeiffer Partners Architects, in collaboration with Mithun Architects, programmed, planned, and designed the $55 million renovation and expansion of Lemieux Library and McGoldrick Learning Commons at Seattle University. The LEED-Gold-designed facility’s green features include daylighting, sustainable and recycled materials, and a rain garden.
| Nov 3, 2010
Recreation center targets student health, earns LEED Platinum
Not only is the student recreation center at the University of Arizona, Tucson, the hub of student life but its new 54,000-sf addition is also super-green, having recently attained LEED Platinum certification.
| Nov 3, 2010
New church in Connecticut will serve a growing congregation
Tocci Building Companies will start digging next June for the Black Rock Congregational Church in Fairfield, Conn. Designed by Wiles Architects, the 103,000-sf multiuse facility will feature a 900-person worship center with tiered stadium seating, a children’s worship center, a chapel, an auditorium, a gymnasium, educational space, administrative offices, commercial kitchen, and a welcome center with library and lounge.
| Nov 3, 2010
Senior housing will be affordable, sustainable
Horizons at Morgan Hill, a 49-unit affordable senior housing community in Morgan Hill, Calif., was designed by KTGY Group and developed by Urban Housing Communities. The $21.2 million, three-story building will offer 36 one-bed/bath units (773 sf) and 13 two-bed/bath units (1,025 sf) on a 2.6-acre site.
| Nov 3, 2010
Designs complete for new elementary school
SchenkelShultz has completed design of the new 101,270-sf elementary Highlands Elementary School, as well as designs for three existing buildings that will be renovated, in Kissimmee, Fla. The school will provide 48 classrooms for 920 students, a cafeteria, a media center, and a music/art suite with outdoor patio. Three facilities scheduled for renovations total 19,459 sf and include an eight-classroom building that will be used as an exceptional student education center, a older media center that will be used as a multipurpose building, and another building that will be reworked as a parent center, with two meeting rooms for community use. W.G. Mills/Ranger is serving as CM for the $15.1 million project.
| Nov 3, 2010
Chengdu retail center offers a blend of old and new China
The first phase of Pearl River New Town, an 80-acre project in Chengdu, in China’s Wenjiang District, is under way along the banks of the Jiang’an River. Chengdu was at one time a leading center for broadcloth production, and RTKL, which is overseeing the project’s master planning, architecture, branding, and landscape architecture, designed the project’s streets, pedestrian pathways, and bridges to resemble a woven fabric.
| Nov 3, 2010
Rotating atriums give Riyadh’s first Hilton an unusual twist
Goettsch Partners, in collaboration with Omrania & Associates (architect of record) and David Wrenn Interiors (interior designer), is serving as design architect for the five-star, 900-key Hilton Riyadh.
| Nov 3, 2010
Virginia biofuel research center moving along
The Sustainable Energy Technology Center has broken ground in October on the Danville, Va., campus of the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research. The 25,000-sf facility will be used to develop enhanced bio-based fuels, and will house research laboratories, support labs, graduate student research space, and faculty offices. Rainwater harvesting, a vegetated roof, low-VOC and recycled materials, photovoltaic panels, high-efficiency plumbing fixtures and water-saving systems, and LED light fixtures will be deployed. Dewberry served as lead architect, with Lord Aeck & Sargent serving as laboratory designer and sustainability consultant. Perigon Engineering consulted on high-bay process labs. New Atlantic Contracting is building the facility.