Located on Gadigal Country, The Drying Green Park is the 6,400m2 centrepiece of a network of green spaces servicing the local Green Square community. The origami-inspired design, created by McGregor Coxall following an international competition win, delivers the world’s first ecological engine – an innovative urban wetland that harnesses green-and-blue living infrastructure. Each day, one-third of an Olympic pool of polluted water is drawn from a drain flowing deep beneath the site [the former Sheas Creek] and cycled through the wetland. The water passes through the high-tech system multiple times and every 3 days is returned clean to Alexandria Canal.
The site location and urban framework were determined by the Green Square Town Centre Masterplan international design competition won by McGregor Coxall + Turner + Arets in 2006. Design commenced in 2013 and McGregor Coxall worked over the next decade with the City of Sydney to deliver Australia’s most technologically advanced park. With Green Square predicted to have a population density higher than Hong Kong by 2030 (22,000 people per square km), the brief dictated a green space offering to contribute to the City of Sydney’s Sustainable Sydney target of minimum overall green cover of 40 per cent across the city by 2050.
The name ‘The Drying Green’ reflects the site’s European history as a wool-washing and drying area. In pre-European times, Sheas Stream bisected the site and was part of an extensive wetland system located on Gadigal Country. The fresh water was very attractive to industry and over time, industrial use and landfill of the wetlands led to widespread contamination and flooding. The Drying Green’s design repairs and regenerates the former ecology, employing modern technology. Utilising the principles of origami, the park design delivers sculpted lawns, folded gardens, and public amenities set in a forest of native trees.
Angular berms utilise green façade technology to provide visual and acoustic separation from busy surrounding streets to the inner park. The park features a large, inclined lawn raised to capture maximum winter sun and is linked to a large BBQ pavilion for summer shade. The southern edge of the park features stepped precast concrete seats, forming a pause space overlooking the adjacent Green Square library. Best practice water sensitive urban design is delivered through a new cascading wetland, tracing the route of the historic Sheas Creek. Flanked by native palms, this living infrastructure cleans urban storm runoff flowing below the park.
Ducks already populate the site and biodiversity is quickly returning. Technology concealed within the origami green forms another part of the ecological engine. A substation hidden within the sculptural amenities building (designed by Chrofi Architects) powers the library and plaza, connected by electrical infrastructure hidden within The Drying Green’s berms. An extensive system of tanks, filtration devices, water quality monitoring and data analysis software tools are located in voids under the berms to drive the ecological engine. Construction was extremely complex, with exacting attention to detail delivered by (Constructors) Regal Innovations, to ensure a streamlined, hi-tech management system for the park now and into the future.
A large number of piles were driven into the former landfill below the site to stabilise the ground and prevent differential settlement. Photovoltaic cells located on the pavilion designed by McGregor Coxall feed renewable energy into the grid to offset the energy needed to power the artwork installation – ‘Stream’ – by contemporary Australian artist, Kerri Poliness. ‘Stream’ was inspired by the ongoing relationship of The Drying Green site to water, including its transformation from swamp and wetland to a dam for industry, through the current use as a stormwater culvert and a return to wetland within the park.
The design led by McGregor Coxall, managed by City of Sydney, and built by Regal Constructions, delivers the world’s first ecological engine – an innovative urban wetland that harnesses green-and-blue living infrastructure. By bringing together innovative design, engagement with the community, and sustainable practices, The Drying Green stands as a testament to the achievements of innovative landscape architectural endeavour. The site is once again positively contributing to the liveability of Green Square. A remarkable achievement in both sustainability and design, The Drying Green’s regenerative landscape and concurrent waterways bring new meaning in pursuit of resilience within Sydney’s urban environments.
Category:Green Urban Planning and LandscapeYear:2024Location: Sydney, New South Wales, AustraliaLead Architect:Adrian McGregor and Ann DengLandscape Architects:McGregor Coxall Australia Pty Ltd.Contractor: Regal InnovationsDesign Team:Christoph Ingenhoven, Martin Reuter, Michael Rathgeb, Nina Schaffernoth, Victor Braun, Julian Blönningen, Bastian Müller, Jürgen Schreyer, Dariusz Szczygielski, Stefan Boenicke, and Thanh DangConsultants:CHROFIClient:City of SydneyPhotographers:Simon Wood Photography and Maxwell Tooby Photography
