GREEN SQUARE AQUATIC CENTRE + GUNYAMA COMPETITION | SPORTS + PUBLIC
Traces of Site and History
A submission for the City of Sydney Gunyama Park and Aquatic Centre Competition, our proposal sought to provide an intelligent, innovative and sensitive solution to the site and context. The scheme proposes only two “facades”, the ground plane and the ceiling plane. Without a front or back, the building and park aspires to be permeable from all corners of the site, activating all edges equally. The two planes draw inspiration from traces of the site and its history: The ground plane is inspired by the morphology of the original Gunyama ‘wetlands’, which have been reinterpreted as an undulating landscape of dunes that are mapped across the site. The ceiling plane becomes an extension of the horizontal canopy line of existing gum trees along Joynton Avenue, whilst the building’s primary steel support structures draw reference from the figural character of the trees and their branch form.
Gunyama Park is imagined to be a series of ‘green dunes’; a collection of ‘performing stages’ for activities. Reminiscent of an image of rolling hills, the braided and interwoven movement networks between dunes allow park-users to permeate from all directions and move through a varied sequence of experiences and activates.
The aquatic centre is configured to reinforce the principal idea of transparency to all sides; where all the functions and activities within interact both with each other and the outside environment. The pool hall is a sequence of sunken spaces, structured and organised by the central circulation bar. This subtle division of pools allows for a quieter, contemplative ‘garden’ side and a more active ‘beach’ side.
SECTOR | Sports + Recreation
CLIENT | City of Sydney
SIZE | 12,000sqm
VALUE | $50,000,000 (AUS)
STAGE | Competition