Cockle Bay Park set to transform city waterfront

Henning Larsen has won the Cockle Bay Park design competition for a new tower in central Sydney. The scheme, co-led by The GPT Group and AMP Capital, is set to provide one of the city's biggest slices of public land in more than a century. Comprising 63,000 sq m of tower above a 10,000 sq m public plinth, Cockle Bay links the central business district to the waterfront, covering an area over a freeway that currently acts as a barrier between the city centre and the thriving Pyrmont district.

The winning designers hoped to define a new type of high-rise development that mixes traditional retail, office, and public areas into a unified, human-centred environment. Viggo Haremst, Henning Larsen partner, stated: “We are constantly inspired by how buildings can facilitate the unexpected, fostering experiences that speak to the idea of a true urban destination. I believe our design for Cockle Bay Park will set a new standard for high-rise development, one where the interface between public and commercial realm link to create a strong sense of community.”

Cockle Bay focuses on both the city scale, where the tower joins the skyline, and the village scale, where people move between the city centre and the waterfront. The tower’s silhouette takes its place among other buildings in the business district, while the public and retail areas offer more intimate spaces at ground level. Expansive retail facilities run alongside a public park, while pedestrian paths frame a continuous route through the development. Haremst said: “Sydney is unique in how it entwines a friendly, local community atmosphere within a cosmopolitan city – we see Cockle Bay Park as an opportunity to reflect this and to emphasize the best of what Sydney can be.”

Lucy Nordberg
TenderStream Head of Research

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