A slab of concrete in Sydney’s Barangaroo precinct will be transformed into a park that honours the long and proud history of the Gadigal people.
The new Barangaroo Harbour Park’s design has been led by Sydney-based First Nations design team AKIN whose vision of the park includes a natural space for all ages and abilities, an event lawn for hosting community and cultural events for up to 6000 people, public art installations and extensive native planting and interactive water features.
AKIN’s vison for the 1.85 hectare park won an international open design competition, where a jury chaired by former Prime Minister Paul Keating and a panel of leading figures from the local and international design community selected the winner out of five finalists.
In a statement released on Monday, New South Wales’ acting Premier Prue Car said the new design continues the precinct’s ongoing commitment to honouring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
“Harbour Park is on the traditional lands of the Gadigal, who have been the custodians of the land and waterways for millennia. The park continues the precinct’s commitment to honouring the role of First Nations people, the history of the site and its wider context.”
Speaking on behalf of AKIN, Yerrabingin co-founder Christian Hampson said the design is about celebrating Gadigal culture.
“For us, this is much more than a park – it’s a place for us to celebrate an enduring culture and to move with Country, acknowledging and experiencing our collective past and present while dreaming of our future.
This design is a new chapter connected to the most ancient of stories, carved in the Sydney sandstone: the story of Country and of us, its people.”
Image Credit: Mertie Via Flickr
