Sydney Park has been recognised in the world's most extensive architecture awards program for its contribution to the community and environment.

Announcing this year’s 2020 Architizer A+ Awards winners in New York yesterday, Architizer said the Sydney Park Water Re-use Project - a public park integrating water infrastructure on one of the city’s oldest post-industrial wastelands - had taken out top Jury Award in the Architecture + Water category.

The award is the second in recent weeks for the project, by Australian-based landscape architects and urbanists Turf Design Studio in collaboration with Environmental Partnership.

The project is an integral component of City of Sydney's Sustainable Sydney 2030, which aims to replace 30 percent of 2030 potable water demand.

The park now captures and cleans 850 million litres of stormwater a year, making it available for re-use. At the same time, the reinvigorated park provides much-needed open space for relaxation and recreation in this high-density inner-city neighbourhood.

Native animal habitat was carefully considered and improved, with the wetlands now boasting the highest population of native bird species in the local area, including 22 wetland species.

The Sydney Park Water Re-use Project was one of only three Australian finalists in total from 430 projects shortlisted from 5000+ submissions from more than 100 countries.

Accepting the award, Turf Design Studio Founder Mike Horne said: “Current times are a stark reminder that it’s never been more imperative for us to explore ways to creatively adapt existing and new spaces, wherever they may be, for the enhancement of life, and the public realm. Likewise, the celebration of water and our vital connection to it.”

This year's Architizer A+ Awards focused on issues defining the future of architecture. New awards celebrate sustainable design and new approaches to building.

These include collaborative categories like Architecture +Adaptive Re-use and Architecture +Water, which illustrate the changing demands of the industry today.

Image: Turf Design