The redevelopment of the new Sydney Fish Market represents a reconfiguration of Sydney’s working harbour into an accessible civic landscape. Conceived as a continuous public domain rather than a singular object, it reshapes the edge of Blackwattle Bay by integrating industrial harbour operations, public space and ecological systems within a shared waterfront terrain.

The project is structured as a landscape framework, with the public domain operating as the site’s primary organisational system. Movement, access, ecological processes and harbour operations are coordinated through a single, continuous ground condition that prioritises connectivity and legibility over fixed boundaries or discrete forms.

The working harbour is understood as civic and ecological infrastructure rather than a background function. Commercial fishing activity remains visible and proximate, reinforcing the site’s identity as a productive landscape where social, economic and environmental exchange continue as part of everyday public life.

A waterfront promenade forms a key connective armature, extending the Glebe Foreshore Walk and establishing a continuous pedestrian link to Pyrmont. In doing so more than 6,000sqm of new public open space is made accessible, returning a previously restricted stretch of Sydney Harbour to daily occupation. The landscape operates across scales, functioning simultaneously as neighbourhood connection, metropolitan foreshore link and public threshold to the working harbour. The new public domain is a key piece in the evolution of a 15km continuous foreshore walk from Woolloomooloo to Rozelle Bay, which will create one of the world’s longest urban waterfront walks.

Harbour activity is deliberately retained within the public realm. Purpose-built wharves allow fishing vessels to berth directly alongside public space, enabling unloading and exchange to remain legible elements of daily operation. Gently sloping promenades and stepped edge conditions bring people close to the water while maintaining clear, accessible circulation. Public access and maritime infrastructure are not separated; instead, the landscape enables their coexistence through spatial continuity and careful gradation.

The ground plane sets the project’s spatial logic. A network of plazas, promenades, terraces and steps supports fluid movement along and across the harbour, strengthening foreshore continuity. Terraces, ramps and broad steps mediate between water, wharf and city, creating gradual transitions. Varied edges enable informal gathering and pause, allowing everyday use to emerge without prescriptive programming. This public domain forms a flexible framework able to adapt to changing use, climate and operational needs over time.

Above the ground plane, a continuous roof structure contributes to environmental moderation across the site. As an inviting architectural gesture, it supports the public realm by shaping light, shade and ventilation, contributing to a shared microclimate that benefits both market activity and outdoor occupation. Landscape and built form operate together as an environmental system, reinforcing continuity between ground and structure.

Rainwater capture, treatment and reuse reduce potable water demand, while living seawalls and in-water interventions enhance habitat complexity and improve the ecological condition of Blackwattle Bay. A native planting strategy introduces shade, shelter and seasonal variation, strengthening biodiversity and improving comfort throughout the public domain.

Material strategies draw from the site’s industrial character, favouring durable elements intended to weather over time. Furniture features Australian hardwoods – wharflike in character, with robust details that speak to the site’s industrial heritage.
As part of Sydney’s evolving foreshore, the project strengthens public access while maintaining an active relationship between infrastructure, landscape and public life. By framing the harbour edge as a shared working landscape – where ecological, social and operational processes are openly negotiated – the project contributes a durable civic ground designed to remain meaningful through use, change and time.

Key facts
• 6,000sqm of new public open space forming part of a visionary 15km foreshore walk from Woolloomooloo to Rozelle Bay, strengthening access to Sydney Harbour.
• The largest fish market in the Southern Hemisphere, integrated with a new public ferry wharf and public transport connections.
• A fully native coastal landscape with 87 trees and 13,415 plants across 65 species, reducing potable water use by 45%, removing ~6,000kg of pollutants annually, improving marine habitat through living seawalls, and embedding First Nations and contemporary public art.

Credits
Client: Infrastructure NSW
Landscape Architect: ASPECT Studios
Architect: 3XN GXN Architects with BVN Architecture
Sustainability lead: GXN
General contractor: Multiplex

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