Design workshops

A series of design workshops to develop draft concepts for the West Oxford Street area were completed in June 2014. The workshops were led by the NSW Government Architect's Office (GAO) and involved teams of professionals and experts in the areas of urban design, landscape architecture, public art and architecture. Teams were provided with the report (prepared by Elton Consulting) detailing the key themes and feedback gathered during the community consultation process, along with Council's analysis of the area to date. A brief was also been prepared for the design teams, which you can download here.

The design teams appointed to participate in the design charettes included:

  • Simpson + Wilson, architecture and urban design (teamed with "The Lot" (public artists))
  • Hill Thalis, architecture and urban projects (teamed with JILA (Landscape Architect) and Macgregor Westlake (public artists/architects))
  • Archrival, architects and public artists (teamed with JMD design (Landscape Architects) and John O'Callaghan (place maker, planner))

Design concepts

The initial draft and refined concept ideas from each team were presented to the community at two different drop-in sessions. They are available to download in PDF below.

Team Orange: Hill Thalis

Key design principles:

  • Reconnecting severed neighbourhoods (reduce roads by 30%)
  • Transforming Oxford Street and Syd Einfeld into boulevards
  • Increasing housing choice in the local area
  • Framing the streetscape along Oxford Street
  • Providing a gateway to Centennial Park
  • Improving pedestrian and cycle movement and amenity
  • Resolving traffic
  • Safeguarding the bus depot as critical transport infrastructure
Key moves:

  • Simplify intersection of Oxford Street, Syd Einfeld Drive and Ocean Street
  • Re-imagine Oxford Street
  • Connect Grafton Street to Syd Einfeld Drive .
  • Win a new pedestrian square in Nelson Street
  • New lanes and pedestrian connections
  • New bus administration building
  • Redefine squares and entries at the north-eastern corner of Centennial Park
  • Widen Oxford Street by 3m along its northern side
  • Open new public walkways south of Oxford Street
  • Create, on land currently alienated by traffic, a new lot 

Team Blue: Simpson + Wilson

Key ideas and design principles:

  • Identity
  • Habitable infrastructure
  • Coordinate
  • Social inclusion and equity
  • Minimise impacts
  • Restructure the city
  • Long term future
Key moves:
 
  • Identity - elements
  • Identity - activities
  • Extend park
  • Cyclist +pedestrian amenity
  • Rationalise bus station
  • Improve entry to Oxford St
  • Nelson St is a place
  • More people not cars
  • Reconnect to Woollahra
Key moves long term:

  • Rationalise the bus depot
  • Activity hub
  • Rationalise entry to Centennial Parklands
  • Adaptive water re-use

Team Green: Archrival

Vision statement: The West Oxford St Precinct provides a lively cultural space for both visitors and locals activated by innovative public art, dynamic streetscapes and connected bus clusters.

Key ideas and design principles:

  • Identity
  • Public domain
  • Solar access and built form
  • Public art
  • Urban typologies
  • Traffic and circulation
  • Land use planning
Key moves:
  • Bring culture to the depot
  • Punctuate Oxford Street
  • Think differently
  • Build with the grain
  • Rejuvenate the street
  • Walk everywhere