Barangaroo Reserve , Sydney , AU
ELIZABETH KNOX , ASSOCIATE ASLA
The city of Sydney intersects with her harbor in innumerable coves and inlets . Some have hard edges : the concrete seawalls of working docks ; some porous : where eucalyptus bush , clinging to sandstone headlands , overhangs the water . Barangaroo Reserve , named for a matriarch of the Aboriginal Kamaraygal tribe who stood up to early settlers who came to claim the land , is a rare example where the hard edge of a former dock has been rehabilitated to regain much of its former porousness .
ABOVE | All 10,000 blocks of sandstone for the project were quarried onsite . TOP | The monumental Northern Cove allows visitors to access and interact with the water .
Curb cuts along park paths allow sheet flow from hardscape to replenish plantings of native vegetation , much of it sourced and grown from seeds gathered in the Sydney area .
The park , which opened in August 2015 , is in view of the Sydney Harbor Bridge and completes part of the Harbour Circle Walk , a 37-mile walking route . It was designed through a collaboration between PWP Landscape Architects of Berkeley , CA and JPW Architects of Sydney . During a visit in early 2016 , I found that Barangaroo reminded me of water ’ s edge connections made in recent Boston waterfront parks .
In addition to being a vital connection along the foreshore circuit , Barangaroo has become popular among runners , who sprint up and down its steep stairways . An underground parking complex and event space are concealed beneath the headland park , utilizing the void created when sandstone was quarried to construct much of the park ’ s hardscape . The park also features native vegetation and walks at several levels to maximize views of the harbor .
86 BSLA