CHROFI collaborated with ASPECT Studios on the design of The Goods Line for Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority. The Goods Line is a linear spine that connects several diverse city neighbourhoods, from Central to Surry Hills, to the harbour via the Darling Harbour Precinct. The spine stitches together a unique concentration of cultural, media and educational institutions forming a civic space rich with latent potential.
Beyond its connectivity function, The Goods Line responds to a shared desire to connect and collaborate that exists amongst the stakeholders - Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority, University of Technology, Sydney, Powerhouse Museum, The ABC, TAFE - Sydney Institute, and the City of Sydney. The Goods Line is conceived as a public platform for interaction, co-curation of events and exhibitions.
The revitalisation is expressed via a singular move. The laying of a new datum, a precast concrete ‘figure’, onto the existing railway corridor, articulating the site’s history and concurrently telling the story of today. These precast concrete panels form the paving, edges, steps, benches and seating as an integrated prefabricated piece. They are a re-tooling of an industrial element to a social purpose using the digital fabrication process.
Scattered along this 'figure' are a variety of opportunities for play, socialisation and respite ranging from water play elements, fitness stations, an oversized communal table, generous terraced seating and cantilevered pods that offer a nestled escape within the canopies of the Moreton Bay fig trees. Collectively these diverse moments create a civic space that encourages occupation by different user groups within one of Sydney's most densely populated precincts.
The 'ground' revealed by the absence of the 'figure' creates opportunities for robust planting, pocket gardens and lawns amongst the meandering railway tracks, further softened by the presence of the line of established fig trees that provide a visual barrier to Darling Drive.
A corridor once energised by the movement of industrial goods will be re-energised with people and the exchange of ideas, marking the transformation from industrial infrastructure to social infrastructure.
Client: Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority
Program: Public Domain, Flexible Event Pavilion, Amenities
Scale: 5,630 sqm
Year: 2011 - 2015
Credit: CHROFI
Team: Acor, AR-MA, Cundall, Deuce Design, Earthscape, Godden Mackay Logan, GTA Consultants, JBA Planning, Lighting Art + Science, Morris Goding
Location: Ultimo, NSW
Visualisation: Doug & Wolf, CHROFI
Status: Complete
Photography: Florian Groehn
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The Goods Line
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About the
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From practice beginnings with TKTS in Times Square New York in 2000, CHROFI has become renowned for designs that are inventive and responsive to particularities of locality, while meeting the client’s objectives and aspirations. Highlights from our two decades of history include the Maitland Riverlink Building that reconnects the town with its river; Lune de Sang that transforms a former dairy property to a sustainably harvested forest and retreat; Harbord Diggers Redevelopment that nestles a large club and housing development within a sensitive headland; The Goods Line that converts a former rail corridor into a new city destination; and the Ian Potter Conservatory Canberra that reinvents the performance and visitor experience of the traditional glasshouse.
We are one of the most awarded Australian practices of our generation. International recognition includes the New York Art Commission Award, 3 x World Architecture Festival Awards, 5 x Chicago Athenaeum International Architecture Awards, and locally, the AIA Jørn Utzon Award, Sulman Medal, Walter Burley Griffin Award and the NSW Architecture Medallion. We are known for our integrated approach that delivers both private and public outcomes, enriching the life of cities. We are passionate about how the design of buildings and the public realm can shape and elevate the human experience. The firm’s work is frequently cited in media and government design guidelines, its design innovation taught through case studies at architecture schools around the world, and its buildings and places loved by clients and the community.
Central to the practice is the growing list of satisfied clients, who hire us for our ability to tackle complex project challenges and bring to life their vision. We work with public agencies, commercial organisations and private individuals across a broad range of project scales and typologies. From master planning and feasibility studies to tendering and construction, CHROFI provides a complete architectural service defined by a clear strategy, imaginative design, technical knowledge, and methodical project management. We make listening and design agility a priority so that our clients can be confident that their objectives will be delivered on time and within budget.
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