Henning Larsen Wins International Competition to Design a Tower in Central Sydney

Written by Christele Harrouk
Published on March 19, 2020

Henning Larsen’s concept was selected as the winning design in the international competition for the redevelopment of Cockle Bay Park in central Sydney. The project, co-led by the GPT Group and AMP Capital was chosen from six shortlisted designs by UN Studio + Cox Architecture, Woods Bagot, Grimshaw, FJMT, and Wilkinson Eyre.

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Defining a new type of high-rise development, the tower, mixes “traditional retail, office, and public program into a unified, human-centered environment”. Threaded together by public space, Cockle Bay Park was designed by Henning Larsen in collaboration with partners McGregor Coxall for the landscape design, and geoffreything for the retail design.

Connecting Sydney’s CBD to the waterfront at Darling Harbor and providing one of the "biggest slices of public land in the heart of the city in more than a century”, according to the Sydney Daily Telegraph, the 73,000 square meter project will include “63,000 square meters of tower program atop a 10,000 square meter public plinth”.

We are incredibly proud to have won this important design competition in the heart of Sydney […] and excited by the opportunity to design a destination that is distinctly human-scaled while also offering world-class retail, office, and public space. 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. -- Viggo Haremst, Henning Larsen Partner.

The ground level puts in place a retail program woven into a public park “that stretches from the elevated main level to the waterfront below”. Occupying a site that acts as a barrier between the city center, the waterfront, and the thriving Pyrmont district, the tower aims to generate continuity within the same urban fabric. In fact, public pedestrian paths are uninterrupted through the development, linking all different functions on the ground level, like shops, restaurants, and bars.

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. -- Viggo Haremst, Henning Larsen Partner.

The winning scheme focuses on both the city scale and the village scale. The tower joins homogeneously the city’s skyline and blends in with people’s daily routine around the city center and the waterfront. In fact, “Cockle Bay Park’s unbroken silhouette slips seamlessly among the towers of Sydney’s CBD, breaking down into more human-scaled pieces as it reaches the public and retail spaces at the ground level”.