Hassell has designed a fresh arrival experience for Sydney Airport’s Terminal 1 International Arrivals Forecourt that embraces the local environment and welcomes travellers with spaces to rest, relax and reconnect with loved ones.
The landscape architects collaborated with First Nations organisation Jiwah to design the planting, underpinned by connection to Country, including culturally significant planting of the Kamay region.
Onsite planting was carried out by Wildflower Gardens for Good, an indigenous-led-not for profit, set to continue on as custodians. Sydney Airport CEO Geoff Culbert said, “We are proud to have an ongoing partnership with this First Nations led organisation that’s empowering youth through employment and strengthening our own connection to country.”
The project includes 2,500sqm of green space, with 35,000 native plants and 31 seats for travellers to pause, rest and take in their surroundings.
Hassell Principal Jason Cuffe said the design transforms the arrival and departure experience through the creation of an immersive landscape, underpinned by key sustainability initiatives, that is iconically Sydney.
“Unlike the traditional approach to large civic spaces, our design began with prioritising the green; with large zones of planting and lawn covering the site and key travel paths defined by the native planting of Sydney.
“A First Nations approach was developed specifically for the project ensuring that the first and last experience of Sydney is underpinned by and celebrates Country. This included a co-design process with Jiwah, while local group The Gujaga Foundation provided cultural language and interpretation elements that are embedded throughout paving and seating,” said Cuffe.
Hassell has specified plinth-fixed Linea Seats and Benches in a sophisticated palette of eco-certified hardwood battens with Jasper frames, in both linear and social arrangements.
“Street Furniture Australia enabled us to further support the flexible approach to the central plaza zone through products that allowed a somewhat relaxed social environment while ensuring all spaces remained framed by landscape.
“The design of the forecourt meets the operational and functional performance of an aeronautical precinct with unimpeded routes for circulation, seamless wayfinding and designated areas for activations.”
Naggangbi, gamay nhay, meaning ‘hello / welcome, this is Botany Bay.’
