DESIGN AGENDA FOR BP PARKLANDS 

The 2.5 hectare Former BP site has emerged from it’s polluted past to become a contemporary post industrial harbourfront park.Galvanized steel walkways and stairs cut diagonally across the landscape towards a steel viewing deck, strategically framing the sandstone cliff, whilst concrete and steel stairs wrap over and around the topography. The site’s industrial heritage is solemnised in an environmental framework of regenerating wetland and bushland; the juxtaposition of industrial materials and raw stone creates a powerful contrast. The viewing decks and walkways float over the descending landscape providing uninterrupted views of the CBD and the Harbour Bridge in the distance.

In its former state, 31 oil storage tanks and ancillary facilities stood on massive concrete platforms carved from the sandstone bedrock. The design reconnects the relic fragments of industrial structures, then contrasts them against sophisticated modern structures to retain both their aesthetic and cultural prominence. The site’s industrial heritage is celebrated within the framework of the natural environment of regenerating bushland and constructed wetlands. 

CONTEXT OF BP PARKLANDS 

The history of the BP Parkland site dates back to the 1920s, when the British Petroleum Company (BP) acquired the coastal site on the eastern side of Waverton Peninsula. It soon became the foremost location for the industrial scale storage tanks required to transfer fuel from inbound ships to motor tankers. 

In order to accommodate the tanks, the native shore woodland was destroyed and the sandstone bedrock blasted. Furthermore, the petroleum company also built a substantial concrete retaining wall on the lower part of the site to retain the spills.

When BP abandoned the facility in the 1980s, the site had deteriorated and become contaminated. The North Sydney Council was faced with the challenging task of finding it a post-industrial future, which resulted in the site lying dormant for a quarter of a century, and a further investment of $3.4 billion to succeed.

In August 1997, Bob Carr (the current NSW Premier), turned down plans for residential subdivision of the former BP site and dedicated it to public open space, along with the nearby Coal Loader and Caltex depot sites. Premier Carr stated; “The NSW Government recognises that there is a need to maintain the commercial viability of the Port of Sydney and that part of the site is appropriate for ‘waterfront industrial’ uses.” 

monitoring, maintenance & effectiveness

The design successfully reconnects the history of the site through fragments of industrial relics, whilst simultaneously contrasting them against a modern framework to retain both their aesthetic and cultural prominence. The project has won five awards including the Australian Institute of Landscape architects NSW design excellence award of 2005.